DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register

Jake Berry: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many registered voters there are who are (a) Commonwealth and (b) Irish but not British citizens.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Deputy Prime Minister how many registered voters there are who are (a) Commonwealth and (b) Irish but not British citizens (193520).
	ONS does not hold information on the number of Commonwealth or Irish citizens registered to vote in UK elections.
	ONS produces electoral statistics showing the total number of people registered to vote in local government, European parliamentary elections, and general elections. Although this total includes British citizens, Commonwealth citizens and citizens of the Republic of Ireland, data on the citizenship of registered voters are not collected.
	The latest UK electoral statistics are for 1 December 2012 and were published on 28 February 2013. They are available on the ONS website at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/pop-estimate/electoral-statistics-for-uk/2012/index.html

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Complaints

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many service complaints have been appealed to Level 2 where mid-year annual reports have not been completed in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Complaints

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many service complaints made in each year since 2008 related to (a) bullying, (b) equality and (c) diversity; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many service complaints have been handled in each branch of the armed forces in each year since 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how many complaints have been registered relating to prescribed behaviours from each branch of the armed forces in each year of operation of the Service Complaints Commission; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  he will detail the number of complaints in each year of operation of the Service Complaints Commission by members of each branch of the armed forces; and if he will make a statement;

Anna Soubry: The information requested can be found in the annual reports of the Service Complaints Commissioner at the following links:
	http://armedforcescomplaints.independent.gov.uk/linkedfiles/afcindependent/423526_sccar_annualrep_tag.pdf
	http://armedforcescomplaints.independent.gov.uk/linkedfiles/afcindependent/scc_2009_ar.pdf
	http://armedforcescomplaints.independent.gov.uk/linkedfiles/afcindependent/scc_annual_report_2010_with_erratum.pdf
	http://armedforcescomplaints.independent.gov.uk/linkedfiles/afcindependent/sccannualreport2011web.pdf
	http://armedforcescomplaints.independent.gov.uk/linkedfiles/afcindependent/426354_ssc_ar_2012.pdf

Armed Forces: Complaints

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people were employed on a daily fees basis to investigate service complaints in each year since 2010; how many days on average each such person was employed in 2010; what the average cost of employing such individuals was; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: In 2010 and 2011, there was no centralised system in place to capture such data. We do not, therefore, hold information covering these years. Data for 2012 and 2013 are currently being collated and will be published shortly in the Service Complaints Commissioner's 2013 Annual Report.

Armed Forces: Rape

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the military prosecutor who made the decision not to bring any charges in relation to the rape allegation brought by Corporal Anne-Marie Ellement had undertaken the specialist training on rape and sexual offences compulsory for CPS prosecutors who work on rape cases at the time of that decision.

Anna Soubry: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
	Substantive answer from Anna Soubry to Emily Thornberry:
	In my answer of 20 March 2014 (Official Report, column 701W) I undertook to write to you in response to your parliamentary question regarding the qualifications of the military prosecutor in the rape allegation made by Corporal Anne-Marie Ellement.
	Specialist training on Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) was established for CPS Personnel in 2007. At the time of the decision not to bring charges in relation to the allegation brought by Corporal Ellement, this training was not mandatory for SPA prosecutors and had not been undertaken by the military prosecutor who made the decision.
	The prosecutor concerned was highly experienced; having prosecuted nineteen rape and sexual assault cases during his assignment to the Authority. He met Cpl Ellement to explain why and how he had reached his decision. The then Director of Service Prosecutions carried out a detailed review of this case in 2012. His review confirmed the original prosecutor's decision not to direct for trial.
	The question of training of those prosecutors involved in cases of alleged serious sexual offences was addressed in detail by an inspection report on the SPA by Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Inspectorate in 2010. They endorsed the quality of decision-making by prosecutors, but recommended that ‘the SPA should identify prosecutors with the appropriate skills and experience to become rape specialists and ensure that their training is targeted to developing this specialist expertise including attendance on an appropriate course’.
	Since 2010 the SPA has sent 16 officers on CPS held RASSO courses and currently employs 10 RASSO trained officers. In order to ensure that the SPA complies with best practice in the civilian domain, it is SPA policy that only suitably trained and experienced prosecutors conduct rape and sexual assault prosecutions.
	I hope this answers your question.

Armed Forces: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel of each rank in each branch of the armed forces have undertaken equality and diversity training in each year since 2008; what the agreed period for refresher training is; how many such personnel have yet to undergo (a) initial and (b) refresher training; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence regards compliance with all equality and diversity (E&D) legislation as important and to that end mandates that all new service entrants receive equality and diversity training during their basic training. Refresher training intervals vary according to service. Every member of the Army is mandated to complete E&D awareness training on an annual basis. Navy personnel are required to complete refresher training every two years and for RAF personnel the interval is three years.

Armed Forces: Vehicles

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many vehicles have returned from (a) Afghanistan and (b) Germany in 2013 and 2014 to date; where each vehicle is currently located; how many vehicles will return by the end of 2014; what spare capacity is to locate vehicles on each Defence Infrastructure Organisation site; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: There have been 875 vehicles returned from Afghanistan in 2013 and 2014 to date. 750 of these are located at the Operation HERRICK exchange points in Warminster and Lyneham, 50 have been reissued to front-line commands and 75 have been issued to contractors for recuperation. It is planned that 1,490 vehicles will be returned to the UK by the end of 2014.
	There were 10 vehicles returned from Germany to the UK for planned repair in 2013; none has been returned in 2014.
	There are a number of specific sites for vehicle storage. Spare capacity of around 35% currently exists across these sites.

Conflict Resolution: Females

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2014, Official Report, columns 218-9W, on conflict resolution: females, on what date he or his officials met counterparts from (a) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (b) the Department for International Development and (c) non-governmental organisations to discuss UNSCR1325.

Mark Francois: Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials meet their counterparts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and non-governmental organisations on a regular basis to discuss UNSCR 1325 as well as conducting regular exchanges by email and telephone. In the last month for example, MOD officials met FCO, DFID and non-governmental organisations on 24 February, 5 March and 20 March; FCO officials on 18 March; DFID officials on 19 March and representatives from non-governmental organisations on 13 March.
	The frequency of meetings is likely to increase as we approach the launch date of the UK National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security in June 2014.

Defence Animal Centre

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what capital investment there has been in the Defence Animal Centre in Melton Mowbray in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: The Ministry of Defence holds records from the 2010-11 financial year onwards.
	Capital costs in respective years are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year Capital cost (£ million) 
			 2010-11 0.6 
			 2011-12 1.7 
			 2012-13 3.5 
			 2013-14 0.6

Defence Animal Centre

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual running cost of the Defence Animal Centre in Melton Mowbray was in each year since 2010.

Anna Soubry: The annual running costs of the Defence Animal Centre for each year since 2010 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Running Costs (£ million) 
			 2010-11 5.3 
			 2011-12 3.9 
			 2012-13 3.4 
			 2013-14 3.4

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits have been made by a Minister in his Department to individual Defence Infrastructure Organisation sites in each year since 2010; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is responsible for Ministry of Defence sites. Defence Ministers regularly visit them. Since 2010, two Ministers have visited the DIO, Sutton Coldfield.

Defence Infrastructure Organisation

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any statutory conservation status has been assigned to any Defence Infrastructure Organisation site; what the nature is of each such status; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: The Defence Infrastructure Organisation owns 150 sites with statutory conservation status.
	The document containing the nature of each status has been placed in the Library of the House.

DSG Ashchurch

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether a value for money survey of Defence Infrastructure Organisation Ashchurch has commenced; when such a survey will conclude; how many people are allocated to work on the survey; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: A Defence Infrastructure Organisation-led (DIO) Assessment Study to look at the options for reproviding the facilities at Ashchurch will commence in April 2014, The Study programme is still being confirmed.
	There are currently 13 personnel from DIO, Army Command and Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) involved in the work. Once the Assessment Study is under way there will be more than 20 staff in total, including additional DIO staff, contractors and various site-based personnel. Not all of the staff will be working full time.

Electric Vehicles

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 219W, on electric vehicles, if he will place in the Library entries from the defence contracts bulletin relating to the installation of charge points at RMA Sandhurst, RAF Northolt and RAF Halton and the installation of 13 points at DSTL sites in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Kent.

Philip Dunne: There are no entries in the Defence Contracts Bulletin (DCB) relating to the installation of charge points for electric vehicles at these sites.
	The work for the installation of charge points at RMA Sandhurst and RAF Northolt was not advertised in the DCB because it was a single source contract (having sought a number of competitive quotes to ensure value for money) placed by a facilities management partner of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation. Potential work at RAF Halton will not be taken forward at this stage. Installation of charge points at DSTL sites will not appear in the DCB because it will be completed by their facilities management partner.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many F-35s the UK is contractually obliged to purchase.

Philip Dunne: At this stage of the Joint Strike Fighter programme, aircraft are being procured via a rolling programme of annual contracts which confirm customer requirements two years ahead of purchase. At this time the UK has accepted three F-35B aircraft and confirmed its order for a fourth, which is scheduled for delivery in 2015. We will make further announcements on new contractual commitments in due course.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many F-35s his Department plans to purchase under its Joint Equipment Programme.

Philip Dunne: The overall number of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to be purchased, as part of the UK's overall combat air capability, will not be determined before the next Strategic Defence and Security Review in 2015 at the earliest.

Marchwood Military Port

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the military port function of the Sea Mounting Centre at Marchwood will continue to be operated in that location after the awarding of a lease to a commercial organisation for the development of part of that site; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence will continue to use Marchwood for sea-mounting after the planned award of the concession. The concession will be structured to ensure that military outputs can still be met from Marchwood, while enabling greater economic and commercial benefit to be realised from the site.

Military Aircraft

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2014, Official Report, column 171W, on military aircraft, how many Aircrew Moving Map Wire Alerting System units have now been released to service; on what dates such units were released to service; and when he expects further such units to be released to service.

Philip Dunne: All units required under the contract have now been delivered to the Ministry of Defence with the first equipment being released to service for use on the Puma HC2 on 11 March 2014. The Release to Service Recommendations (RTSR) to support the use of the equipment on Lynx Mk7 was submitted on 13 March 2014 and release to service will follow approval of these recommendations. The evidence to support the RTSR for the remaining fleets are being prepared and will be submitted by the summer once aircraft type specific trials and checks are completed.

MOD St Athan

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of the provision of functional skills training for MOD St Athan by Bridgend College in each year since 2008; what the projected costs of the provision of functional skills training by a private contractor in future years; whether an assessment of the business case for the transfer of that training to a contracted provider was carried out prior to the decision to make that transfer; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
	Substantive answer from Anna Soubry to Mrs Moon:
	In my answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, column 703W, I undertook to write to you in response to your question regarding the cost of the provision of functional skills training to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) by Bridgend College.
	There was no cost to the MOD for the provision of such training. Payment for functional skills training is drawn down by the provider from the Skills Funding Agency. Training provided by existing or future contractors will be funded in the same manner. The decision to move the provision of functional skills training from an informal system of “outside providers” to a more formal contractual footing was based on legal and commercial advice, and in no way reflects on the quality of training provided by Bridgend College.

RAF Hullavington

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with DIO and English Heritage about the redevelopment of RAF Hullavington.

Mark Francois: The Secretary of State for Defence has not had any discussion with either the Defence Infrastructure Organisation or English Heritage about the redevelopment of RAF Hullavington.

Red Arrows

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the running costs of the Red Arrows were in each year since 2010.

Andrew Murrison: The available figures for the running costs of the Red Arrows for the last two financial years (FY) are as follows:
	
		
			 Financial year £ million 
			 2011-12 10.04 
			 2012-13 11.22 
		
	
	These figures include all operating costs, but exclude asset depreciation and the capital cost of aircraft or buildings.
	Ministry of Defence officials are collating the information requested for FY 2010-11 and I will write to the hon. Member when this work is complete.
	Substantive answer from Andrew Murrison to Kevan Jones:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question of 13 March 2014 (Official Report; column 325W) about the running costs of the Red Arrows. I can now confirm that the running costs for Financial Year 2010-11 were £9.73 million.
	This figure includes all operating costs, but excludes asset depreciation and the capital cost of aircraft or buildings.

Territorial Army

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Territorial Army were subjected to summary hearings in each year since 2008; how many such people were imprisoned; what the average number of days imprisonment served was; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The numbers of Army Reserve personnel subjected to summary hearings in each year since 2008 are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of summary hearings 
			 2008 30 
			 2009 60 
			 2010 60 
			 2011 60 
			 2012 50 
			 2013 70 
			 2014 (as at 20 March) 10 
		
	
	Numbers have been rounded in line with Defence Statistics rounding policy and may not therefore represent the sum of their parts.
	The summary hearing procedure is not authorised to dispense a sentence of imprisonment but may authorise the detention of an individual for up to 30 days.
	Four of these hearings resulted in punishments of detention and the average number of days served was 14.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria were applied when evaluating the suitability of the automatic wing sweep for installation on the Tornado F3.

Philip Dunne: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
	Substantive answer from Philip Dunne to Angus Robertson:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 10th March 2014 (Official Report, column 33W) about the automatic wing sweep system of the Tornado F3 aircraft.
	During the development of the Tornado aircraft Air Defence Variant (ADV) in the early 1980s a requirement was identified for the aircraft variable wing sweep function to be automated. The requirement was intended to reduce pilot workload, optimise aircraft performance and improve fuel duration.
	The criteria applied to evaluate the suitability of an automatic wing sweep system were that installation of the new equipment should be as simple as possible, i.e. a ‘bolt on’ addition; that reversion to manual control should be possible in the event of a failure of the automatic system, and that no existing aircraft system should be changed.
	The automatic wing sweep system was embodied under a number of aircraft modifications during early Tornado ADV manufacture, which included manufacture of the Tornado F3.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 504W, on unmanned air vehicles, 
	(1)  in relation to training what the type of training of UK UAS operators carried out in each country was; and what the cost of such training was; [R]
	(2)  in relation to training what identified the period during which the training of UK UAS operators took place in each host country; where such training took place; and which unmanned systems were used. [R]

Mark Francois: The details of the location, purpose and type of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) training by country and UAS flown are as follows:
	
		
			 Country Location in country Type of training System used 
			 UK Salisbury Plain Mission specific training and higher formation training Desert Hawk III 
			  Salisbury Plain Higher formation training Watchkeeper 
			  Salisbury Plain Mission specific training Tarantula Hawk 
			  West Wales Airport Higher formation training Watchkeeper 
			  Otterburn Mission specific training Desert Hawk III 
			  Thetford Mission specific training Desert Hawk III 
			 Israel Withheld1 Mission specific training Hermes 450 
			 Jordan Jinaih training area Mission specific training Desert Hawk III 
			 Canada Suffield Mission specific training and higher formation training Desert Hawk III 
			 Kenya Archer Post training area Mission specific training and higher formation training Desert Hawk III 
			 Germany Bavaria Higher formation training Desert Hawk III 
			 USA Camp Roberts, California Mission specific training and higher formation training Desert Hawk III 
			 1 Location withheld for UK personnel security reasons. 
		
	
	Mission specific training was conducted in preparation for deployment to Afghanistan. Higher formation training was in support of training for contingency operations. Individual training is also conducted to ensure pilots and commanders are current and competent with the systems to avoid skill fade, and this mainly is carried out in the UK and USA. The cost of the UAS element of training is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The list of countries also includes Germany. This corrects the answer I gave on 17 March 2014, Official Report, column 504W.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Bishops: Females

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what estimate he has made of when it will be possible for women to be bishops in the Church of England.

Tony Baldry: 20 of the 44 dioceses of the Church of England have currently voted in favour of the new measure to enable women to become bishops. The majority of the dioceses will have voted by 22 May with the exception of the Diocese of Europe which will enable the measure to be considered at the July meeting of the General Synod in York.
	The General Synod will need to obtain a two thirds majority in each of the three Houses of the Synod for this measure to pass. If General Synod pass the necessary measure in July it would be possible to complete the passage of the measure in time for the canon to be promulged and the first woman to be eligible for nomination before the end of this year.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, which local authority (a) augmented and (b) did not augment Department for Work and Pensions data matching with the electoral register with local authority data matching.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that 137 local authorities provided data to them on their local data matching activities following the trial of matching with the DWP in 2013. The following list shows these local authorities. Those that did not provide data may still have carried out local data matching work.
	Reported on local data matching activities
	Amber Valley
	Argyll and Bute
	Ashfield
	Aylesbury Vale
	Barking and Dagenham
	Bassetlaw
	Bath and North East Somerset
	Bexley
	Blaby
	Bolsover
	Bournemouth
	Bracknell Forest
	Brighton and Hove
	Bromley
	Bromsgrove
	Broxbourne
	Broxtowe
	Burnley
	Calderdale
	Canterbury
	Carlisle
	Central Bedfordshire
	Ceredigion
	Cheltenham
	Christchurch
	Conwy
	Coventry
	Dartford
	Daventry
	Denbighshire
	Derbyshire Dales
	Dudley
	Dumfries and Galloway
	Durham
	East Dorset
	East Dunbartonshire
	East Lindsey
	East Lothian
	East Northamptonshire
	East Renfrewshire
	Eastleigh
	Eden
	Edinburgh, City of
	Elmbridge
	Flintshire
	Forest of Dean
	Gosport
	Gravesham
	Guildford
	Gwynedd
	Halton
	Hambleton
	Hammersmith and Fulham
	Harborough
	Harrogate
	Hastings
	Havant
	Herefordshire
	High Peak
	Hillingdon
	Hyndburn
	Inverclyde
	Ipswich
	Kensington and Chelsea
	Kettering
	Kingston upon Thames
	Lewisham
	Lincoln
	Luton
	Mansfield
	Medway
	Melton
	Midlothian
	Milton Keynes
	Mole Valley
	Neath Port Talbot
	New Forest
	Newport
	North Dorset
	North Kesteven
	North Lincolnshire
	North Somerset
	North Tyneside
	North Warwickshire
	North West Leicestershire
	Nottingham
	Orkney Islands
	Oxford
	Pendle
	Poole
	Purbeck
	Redcar and Cleveland
	Redditch
	Renfrewshire
	Richmond upon Thames
	Richmondshire
	Rossendale
	Rotherham
	Rushcliffe
	Rushmoor
	Sandwell
	Sedgemoor
	Sefton
	Sheffield
	Shepway
	Shropshire
	South Derbyshire
	South Gloucestershire
	South Kesteven
	South Ribble
	Southend-on-Sea
	St Edmundsbury
	St Helens
	Staffordshire Moorlands
	Stockport
	Surrey Heath
	Swale
	Swindon
	Tamworth
	Tandridge
	Thanet
	Thurrock
	Tonbridge and Malling
	Walsall
	Warrington
	Watford
	Waverley
	West Berkshire
	West Dunbartonshire
	West Lindsey
	West Lothian
	Wigan
	Wiltshire
	Wolverhampton
	Wychavon
	Wyre
	York

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, if the Electoral Commission will place in the Library a copy of the newly-designed Household Registration Form and the Invitation to Register forms.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that these forms have been formally approved by the Minister of State, and as such the Cabinet Office will be placing them in the Library shortly.

Electoral Register: Blaenau Gwent

Nick Smith: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Blaenau Gwent county borough council.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
	The ward results for Blaenau Gwent county borough council were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Abertillery 82.4 3.0 14.6 
			 Badminton 87.9 1.4 10.7 
			 Beaufort 86.1 1.6 12.3 
			 Blaina 83.0 2.3 14.7 
			 Brynmawr 82.1 2.3 15.7 
			 Cwm 85.4 1.6 13.0 
			 Cwmtillery 84.9 1.9 13.2 
			 Ebbw Vale North 85.1 1.8 13.1 
			 Ebbw Vale South 81.2 2.0 16.8 
			 Georgetown 85.4 1.0 13.7 
			 Llanhilleth 82.8 2.1 15.0 
			 Nantyglo 83.3 2.6 14.2 
			 Rassau 86.7 1.7 11.6 
			 Sirhowy 85.3 1.7 13.0 
			 Six Bells 82.8 2.6 14.6 
			 Tredegar Central and West 84.0 1.9 14.1

Electoral Register: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, how many voters in (a) London, (b) each London borough and (c) each parliamentary constituency in London could not be matched as part of the recent confirmation dry run carried out by the Electoral Commission.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match. This work was carried out by the Cabinet Office and not directly by the Electoral Commission.
	The red and amber results for London, each London borough and each parliamentary constituency in London were as follows:
	
		
			  Red Amber 
			 London 1,523,114 280,337 
		
	
	
		
			 London borough   
			 Barking and Dagenham 26,127 2,430 
			 Barnet 58,211 8,529 
			 Bexley 30,494 2,168 
			 Brent 58,460 12,198 
			 Bromley 39,726 4,737 
			 Camden 52,346 20,136 
			 City of London 2,779 258 
			 Croydon 57,129 8,005 
			 Ealing 58,701 12,7.76 
			 Enfield 40,801 6,474 
			 Greenwich 40,056 4,769 
			 Hackney 57,498 10,065 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 39,378 16,210 
			 Haringey 53,621 15,010 
			 Harrow 37,983 4,588 
			 Havering 28,332 2,606 
			 Hillingdon 45,437 4,366 
			 Hounslow 45,995 6,085 
			 Islington 51,188 12,795 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 43,133 13,482 
			 Kingston upon Thames 26,100 3,118 
			 Lambeth 81,417 14,165 
			 Lewisham 52,211 8,834 
			 Merton 34,821 4,981 
			 Newham 64,311 8,981 
			 Redbridge 48,608 5,702 
			 Richmond upon Thames 28,672 4,654 
			 Southwark 67,234 9,160 
			 Sutton 23,790 3,148 
			 Tower Hamlets 53,028 8,225 
			 Waltham. Forest 46,129 7,389 
			 Wandsworth 73,033 17,032 
			 Westminster 56,365 17,261 
			    
			 London parliamentary constituencies   
			 Barking 17,910 1,651 
			 Battersea 26,831 6,751 
			 Beckenham 10,868 1,041 
			 Bermondsey and Old Southwark 33,169 3,549 
			 Bethnal Green and Bow 27,095 4,655 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford 10,728 750 
			 Brent Central 25,187 6,123 
			 Brent North 23,399 3,410 
			 Brentford and Isleworth 26,105 3,809 
			 Bromley and Chislehurst 12,019 1,345 
			 Camberwell and Peckham 27,167 4,040 
			 Carshalton and Wallington 11,186 1,491 
			 Chelsea and Fulham 26,701 8,467 
			 Chingford and Woodford Green 12,736 1,379 
			 Chipping Barnet 16,855 2,190 
			 Cities of London and Westminster 33,759 7,674 
			 Croydon Central 17,235 2,057 
		
	
	
		
			 Croydon North 24,436 4,033 
			 Croydon South 15,458 1,915 
			 Dagenham and Rainham 12,564 1,195 
			 Dulwich and West Norwood 23,880 4,861 
			 Ealing Central and Acton 23,996 6,646 
			 Ealing North 17,761 2,709 
			 Ealing Southall 16,944 3,421 
			 East Ham 32,053 4,476 
			 Edmonton 13,762 2,233 
			 Eltham 11,835 1,226 
			 Enfield North 12,557 1,533 
			 Enfield Southgate 14,482 2,708 
			 Erith and Thamesmead 16,321 1,184 
			 Feltham and Heston 19,890 2,276 
			 Finchley and Golders Green 20,416 3,855 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 20,864 2,975 
			 Hackney North and Stoke Newington 28,427 6,110 
			 Hackney South and Shoreditch 29,071 3,955 
			 Hammersmith 25,041 10,874 
			 Hampstead and Kilburn 29,704 13,337 
			 Harrow East 15,483 1,852 
			 Harrow West 18,134 2,206 
			 Hayes and Harlington 17,540 2,110 
			 Hendon 20,940 2,484 
			 Holborn and St Pancras 32,516 9,464 
			 Hornchurch and Upminster 11,456 1,073 
			 Hornsey and Wood Green 26,706 8,550 
			 Ilford North 15,605 1,554 
			 Ilford South 25,007 3,242 
			 Islington North 25,295 7,491 
			 Islington South and Finsbury 25,893 5,304 
			 Kensington 30,769 10,351 
			 Kingston and Surbiton 19,493 2,381 
			 Lewisham Deptford 24,795 4,336 
			 Lewisham East 16,939 2,741 
			 Lewisham West and Penge 18,129 3,239 
			 Leyton and Wanstead 20,763 3,727 
			 Mitcham and Morden 16,823 2,280 
			 Old Bexley and Sidcup 10,802 802 
			 Orpington 9,187 869 
			 Poplar and Limehouse 25,933 3,570 
			 Putney 21,693 3,538 
			 Richmond Park 18,456 3,023 
			 Romford 12,529 1,117 
			 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner 13,858 1,443 
			 Streatham 30,298 5,420 
			 Sutton and Cheam 12,604 1,657 
			 Tooting 24,509 6,743 
			 Tottenham 26,915 6,460 
			 Twickenham 16,823 2,368 
			 Uxbridge and South Ruislip 18,405 1,343 
			 Vauxhall 34,137 5,455 
		
	
	
		
			 Walthamstow 20,626 3,189 
			 West Ham 32,258 4,505 
			 Westminster North 25,385 9,845 
			 Wimbledon 17,998 2,701 
		
	
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

Electoral Register: Greater London

Sadiq Khan: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in (a) each London borough and (b) each parliamentary constituency in London.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
	The results for each London borough and each parliamentary constituency in London were as follows:
	
		
			 London Boroughs 
			 Percentage 
			  Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Barking and Dagenham 77.5 1.9 20.6 
			 Barnet 72.8 3.5 23.7 
			 Bexley 81.7 1.2 17.1 
			 Brent 67.6 5.6 26.8 
			 Bromley 81.3 2.0 16.7 
			 Camden 52.2 13.3 34.5 
			 City of London 53.9 3.9 42.2 
			 Croydon 75.1 3.1 21.8 
			 Ealing 70.2 5.3 24.5 
			 Enfield 78.0 3.0 19.0 
			 Greenwich 74.3 2.7 23.0 
			 Hackney 60.8 5.8 33.3 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 55.4 13.0 31.6 
			 Haringey 60.5 8.6 30.8 
			 Harrow 76.3 2.6 21.1 
			 Havering 83.4 1.4 15.2 
			 Hillingdon 75.9 2.1 22.0 
			 Hounslow 72.0 3.3 24.7 
			 Islington 58.9 8.2 32.9 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 46.9 12.6 40.4 
			 Kingston upon Thames 74.9 2.7 22.4 
			 Lambeth 57.0 6.4 36.6 
			 Lewisham 68.3 4.6 27.2 
			 Merton 73.2 3.4 23.5 
			 Newham 64.8 4.3 30.9 
			 Redbridge 73.8 2.7 23.4 
		
	
	
		
			 Richmond upon Thames 75.7 3.4 20.9 
			 Southwark 62.6 4.5 32.9 
			 Sutton 81.2 2.2 16.6 
			 Tower Hamlets 63.6 4.9 31.5 
			 Waltham Forest 71.0 4.0 25.0 
			 Wandsworth 60.3 7.5 32.2 
			 Westminster 48.2 12.1 39.7 
		
	
	
		
			 London Parliamentary Constituencies 
			 Percentage 
			  Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Barking 76.4 2.0 21.6 
			 Battersea 57.5 8.5 34.0 
			 Beckenham 82.6 1.5 15.8 
			 Bermondsey and Old Southwark 59.6 3.9 36.5 
			 Bethnal Green and Bow 62.1 5.6 32.4 
			 Bexleyheath and Crayford 82.9 1.1 15.9 
			 Brent Central 65.7 6.7 27.6 
			 Brent North 71.9 3.6 24.6 
			 Brentford and Isleworth 68.4 4.0 27.5 
			 Bromley and Chislehurst 80.1 2.0 17.9 
			 Camberwell and Peckham 64.1 4.7 31.3 
			 Carshalton and Wallington 82.3 2.1 15.6 
			 Chelsea and Fulham 52.3 11.5 36.2 
			 Chingford and Woodford Green 79.5 2.0 18.5 
			 Chipping Barnet 76.8 2.7 20.6 
			 Cities of London and Westminster 44.3 10.3 45.4 
			 Croydon Central 76.5 2.5 21.0 
			 Croydon North 70.0 4.3 25.8 
			 Croydon South 79.5 2.3 18.2 
			 Dagenham and Rainham 81.5 1.6 16.9 
			 Dulwich and West Norwood 63.7 6.1 30.2 
			 Ealing Central and Acton 62.9 8.0 29.0 
			 Ealing North 76.0 3.2 20.8 
			 Ealing Southall 71.7 4.8 23.6 
			 East Ham 64.6 4.3 31.1 
			 Edmonton 77.7 3.1 19.2 
			 Eltham 80.2 1.9 18.0 
			 Enfield North 80.4 2.1 17.4 
			 Enfield Southgate 75.9 3.8 20.3 
			 Erith and Thamesmead 76.9 1.6 21.6 
			 Feltham and Heston 75.7 2.5 21.8 
			 Finchley and Golders Green 69.3 4.9 25.8 
			 Greenwich and Woolwich 68.5 3.9 27.5 
			 Hackney North and Stoke Newington 60.5 7.0 32.5 
			 Hackney South and Shoreditch 61.1 4.7 34.2 
			 Hammersmith 55.1 13.6 31.3 
		
	
	
		
			 Hampstead and Kilburn 51.9 14.9 33.2 
			 Harrow East 78.0 2.4 19.7 
			 Harrow West 73.4 2.9 23.8 
			 Hayes and Harlington 75.3 2.7 22.1 
			 Hendon 72.1 3.0 24.9 
			 Holborn and St Pancras 55.2 10.1 34.7 
			 Hornchurch and Upminster 84.7 1.3 14.0 
			 Hornsey and Wood Green 60.6 9.6 29.8 
			 Ilford North 77.9 2.0 20.1 
			 Ilford South 70.0 3.4 26.6 
			 Islington North 58.3 9.5 32.2 
			 Islington South and Finsbury 59.5 6.9 33.6 
			 Kensington 47.0 13.3 39.7 
			 Kingston and Surbiton 74.7 2.7 22.5 
			 Lewisham Deptford 62.9 5.5 31.6 
			 Lewisham East 72.3 3.9 23.8 
			 Lewisham West and Penge 71.7 4.3 24.0 
			 Leyton and Wanstead 67.0 5.0 28.0 
			 Mitcham and Morden 75.0 3.0 22.0 
			 Old Bexley and Sidcup 83.0 1.2 15.8 
			 Orpington 85.4 1.3 13.3 
			 Poplar and Limehouse 65.1 4.2 30.6 
			 Putney 63.6 5.1 31.3 
			 Richmond Park 74.1 3.6 22.3 
			 Romford 81.8 1.5 16.7 
			 Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner 79.9 1.9 18.2 
			 Streatham 57.6 6.4 36.0 
			 Sutton and Cheam 80.2 2.3 17.5 
			 Tooting 60.3 8.6 31.2 
			 Tottenham 60.4 7.7 31.9 
			 Twickenham 77.1 2.8 20.1 
			 Uxbridge and South Ruislip 74.1 1.8 24.2 
			 Vauxhall 53.8 6.4 39.8 
			 Walthamstow 69.1 4.1 26.8 
			 West Ham 65.0 4.3 30.7 
			 Westminster North 52.6 13.3 34.2 
			 Wimbledon 71.2 3.8 25.0

Electoral Register: Kingston upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Hull.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
	The ward results for Hull city council were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Avenue 65.4 5.0 29.6 
			 Beverley 79.6 1.0 19.3 
			 Boothferry 85.0 1.0 14.0 
			 Bransholme East 83.9 1.7 14.5 
			 Bransholme West 85.6 1.6 12.8 
			 Bricknell 86.4 0.9 12.6 
			 Derringham 82.9 1.2 15.9 
			 Drypool 75.3 1.8 22.9 
			 Holderness 85.7 0.9 13.4 
			 Ings 86.6 1.2 12.2 
			 Kings Park 77.3 1.2 21.5 
			 Longhill 86.4 0.8 12.8 
			 Marfleet 84.1 1.7 14.3 
			 Myton 65.2 5.3 29.5 
			 Newington 75.8 3.2 21.0 
			 Newland 48.6 2.9 48.6 
			 Orchard Park and Greenwood 85.0 2.7 12.3 
			 Pickering 83.4 1.4 15.2 
			 Southcoates East 86.1 1.3 12.6 
			 Southcoates West 79.4 1.4 19.1 
			 St Andrews 69.5 5.8 24.7 
			 Sutton 84.6 1.1 14.2 
			 University 71.0 2.2 26.9

Electoral Register: Lothian

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in East Lothian constituency.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	The ward results for the East Lothian constituency were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Dunbar and East Linton 78.7 5.1 16.2 
			 Fa'side 80.9 3.0 16.0 
			 Haddington and Lammermuir 77.9 5.6 16.5 
			 Musselburgh East and Carberry 79.5 2.6 17.9 
			 Musselburgh West 74.5 2.5 23.0 
		
	
	
		
			 North Berwick Coastal 78.4 5.3 16.2 
			 Preston/Seton/Gosford 82.2 2.0 15.8 
		
	
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

Electoral Register: Luton

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were for each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Luton borough council.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
	The ward results for Luton borough council were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Barnfield 82.0 1.5 16.4 
			 Biscot 68.7 5.1 26.2 
			 Bramingham 82.8 1.1 16.1 
			 Challney 77.9 2.8 19.3 
			 Crawley 79.6 1.3 19.1 
			 Dallow 66.9 5.0 28.1 
			 Farley 76.6 2.4 21.0 
			 High Town 63.6 2.9 33.5 
			 Icknield 85.2 1.3 13.5 
			 Leagrave 79.8 2.1 18.1 
			 Lewsey 81.8 2.3 15.9 
			 Limbury 83.4 1.9 14.6 
			 Northwell 81.1 2.4 16.6 
			 Round Green 81.1 1.8 17.1 
			 Saints 74.7 3.9 21.4 
			 South 57.6 4.5 37.9 
			 Stopsley 85.3 1.1 13.7 
			 Sundon Park 82.9 2.0 15.1 
			 Wigmore 81.9 1.2 16.9

Electoral Register: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what steps are being taken by the Electoral Commission in Northern Ireland to promote electoral registration in rural areas where residents live some distance from permanent electoral offices.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that it runs public awareness campaigns across Northern Ireland to encourage electors to register to vote. Its most recent campaign was conducted during the 2013 canvass of electors when all households in Northern Ireland were contacted. It also plans to conduct a public awareness campaign ahead of the upcoming elections this May.
	The Chief Electoral Officer is responsible for maintaining the electoral register in Northern Ireland and the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland run a number of registration and electoral identity clinics throughout Northern Ireland.

Electoral Register: Scotland

Anne Begg: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in (a) Aberdeen city council and (b) Aberdeenshire county council.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
	The ward results for Aberdeen city council were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Airyhall/Broomhill/Garthdee 78.4 2.0 19.6 
			 Bridge of Don 84.4 1.5 14.1 
			 Dyce/Bucksburn/Danestone 79.4 3.4 17.2 
			 George St/Harbour 46.2 8.1 45.8 
			 Hazlehead/Ashley/Queens Cross 76.0 3.0 21.0 
			 Hilton/Woodside/Stockethill 77.2 1.9 21.0 
			 Kincorth/Nigg/Cove 82.9 1.7 15.4 
			 Kingswells/Sheddocksley/Summerhill 83.0 1.3 15.7 
			 Lower Deeside 77.6 5.4 17.0 
			 Midstocket/Rosemount 62.9 5.2 31.9 
			 Northfield/Mastrick North 85.0 1.4 13.7 
			 Tillydrone/Seaton/Old Aberdeen 55.1 3.9 41.1 
			 Torry/Ferryhill 67.2 5.1 27.7 
		
	
	The ward results for Aberdeenshire county council were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Aboyne Upper Deeside and Donside 72.7 9.4 17.9 
			 Banchory and Mid Deeside 79.3 5.4 15.4 
			 Banff and District 78.0 6.9 15.1 
			 Central Buchan 74.5 9.7 15.9 
			 East Garioch 79.0 4.5 16.5 
			 Ellon and District 78.8 5.1 16.1 
			 Fraserburgh and District 82.2 3.1 14.7 
			 Huntly Strathbogie and Howe of Alford 74.5 9.4 16.1 
			 Inverurie and District 80.3 3.3 16.4 
			 Mearns 73.7 9.1 17.1 
			 Mid Formartine 74.9 7.9 17.2 
			 North Kincardine 78.5 4.8 16.7 
			 Peterhead North and Rattray 78.6 4.5 16.9 
			 Peterhead South and Cruden 81.5 3.8 14.7 
			 Stonehaven and Lower Deeside 80.2 4.3 15.4 
			 Troup 76.8 8.2 15.0 
			 Turriff and District 73.7 9.4 16.9 
			 West Garioch 74.4 8.7 16.9 
			 Westhill and District 79.5 4.4 16.1

Electoral Register: Wandsworth

Sadiq Khan: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in the London Borough of Wandsworth.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
	The ward results for Wandsworth were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Balham 57.8 9.2 33.1 
			 Bedford 53.0 13.1 33.9 
			 Earlsfield 59.3 6.6 34.1 
			 East Putney 57.9 6.2 35.9 
			 Fairfield 54.2 9.6 36.2 
			 Furzedown 68.2 6.7 25.1 
			 Graveney 60.9 7.2 31.9 
			 Latchmere 65.6 4.2 30.1 
			 Nightingale 57.7 10.0 32.3 
			 Northcote 54.1 13.3 32.7 
			 Queenstown 58.0 6.2 35.8 
		
	
	
		
			 Roehampton and Putney Heath 63.5 3.2 33.3 
			 Shaftesbury 54.1 12.3 33.7 
			 Southfields 64.4 5.7 29.8 
			 St Mary's Park 58.5 5.7 35.8 
			 Thamesfield 58.8 9.2 31.9 
			 Tooting 59.0 8.8 32.2 
			 Wandsworth Common 64.3 7.6 28.1 
			 West Hill 67.7 3.1 29.3 
			 West Putney 69.4 3.1 27.5

Electoral Register: Warrington

Helen Jones: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in Warrington North constituency in the recent confirmation dry run.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
	The ward results for the Warrington North constituency were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Birch wood 83.9 1.1 14.9 
			 Burtonwood and Winwick 83.4 2.3 14.3 
			 Culcheth Glazebury and Croft 85.5 1.5 12.9 
			 Fairfield and Howley 75.1 1.8 23.1 
			 Orford 83.7 1.5 14.8 
			 Poplars and Hulme 83.9 1.0 15.2 
			 Poulton North 84.0 1.1 14.9 
			 Poulton South 86.9 0.8 12.3 
			 Rixton and Woolston 86.7 1.3 12.0 
			 Westbrook 83.4 1.5 15.0

Electoral Register: West Midlands

David Wright: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in Telford and Wrekin.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls
	The ward results for Telford and Wrekin council were as follows:
	
		
			 Percentage 
			 Ward Green matches Amber matches Red matches 
			 Apley Castle 84.4 1.3 14.3 
			 Arleston 81.3 1.8 16.9 
			 Brookside 81.0 1.2 17.9 
			 Church Aston and Lilleshall 82.5 3.7 13.7 
			 College 79.3 2.6 18.1 
			 Cuckoo Oak 81.4 1.7 16.9 
			 Dawley Magna 82.4 1.3 16.2 
			 Donnington 81.6 1.5 16.8 
			 Dothill 84.8 1.3 14.0 
			 Edgmond 81.8 5.3 12.9 
			 Ercall 83.3 1.9 14.8 
			 Ercall Magna 80.5 4.9 14.6 
			 Hadley and Leegomery 79.3 1.5 19.2 
			 Haygate 80.7 1.7 17.6 
			 Horsehay and Lightmoor 75.8 3.2 21.1 
			 Ironbridge Gorge 76.5 3.1 20.5 
			 Ketley and Oakengates 81.8 1.3 16.9 
			 Lawley and Overdale 81.7 1.7 16.6 
			 Madeley 83.6 1.0 15.4 
			 Malinslee 83.1 1.2 15.7 
			 Muxton 82.8 1.2 16.0 
			 Newport East 86.1 0.9 13.0 
			 Newport North 84.8 1.6 13.6 
			 Newport South 86.3 1.8 11.9 
			 Newport West 82.2 1.5 16.3 
			 Park 87.3 1.0 11.7 
			 Priorslee 82.4 1.0 16.6 
			 Shawbirch 86.0 0.8 13.2 
			 St Georges 82.1 1.2 16.7 
			 The Nedge 82.9 1.0 16.1 
			 Woodside 78.7 1.6 19.7 
			 Wrockwardine 82.3 2.4 15.3 
			 Wrockwardine Wood and Trench 84.5 1.2 14.3

Polling Stations

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made of the potential benefits of using (a) student unions and (b) other university and college venues as polling stations.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that between 2002 and 2007 a number of English local authorities piloted the use of alternative locations as polling stations, although these did not include student unions or other university and college premises. The locations included railway stations, supermarkets, libraries and other local authority venues.
	The Commission's statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes concluded that the convenience of voting at alternative locations was appreciated by some voters, although the impact on turnout was minimal.
	At present, the legislation provides that returning officers may use certain publicly-funded schools or “rooms funded out of any rate” free of charge as premises for polling stations. The Electoral Commission has recommended that returning officers should be permitted to use a wider range of publicly-funded buildings as polling stations.

Voting Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what assessment the Electoral Commission has made on the viability of permitting people to vote in any polling station in their constituency or local authority area.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that permitting people to vote electronically at any polling station within a specific ward or local authority area was piloted by a number of English local authorities between 2002 and 2007 as part of the previous UK Government's electoral pilot scheme programme.
	The Commission's statutory evaluation of the pilot schemes concluded that while some people welcomed the convenience of “vote anywhere” polling stations, the impact on turnout was minimal and there were significant technical problems associated with the facility in some areas.
	The Commission has recommended that there should be no further piloting of electronic voting—including “vote anywhere” polling stations—without the development of a wider electoral modernisation strategy, which should take account of the specific risks related to electronic voting, as well as its cost-effectiveness and likely impact on public trust.

Voting Behaviour

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what percentage of those registered to vote by post did so in (a) police commissioner elections and (b) the local European elections in each electoral area; and what the percentage turnout was at polling stations in each election and in each area.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the turnout figures at the Police and Crime Commissioner elections were as follows:
	
		
			 2012 Police and Crime Commissioner elections 
			 Percentage 
			  In-person turnout Postal voter turnout 
			 England and Wales 9.2 48.2 
			 Avon and Somerset 13.8 52.1 
			 Bedfordshire 13.2 52.3 
			 Cambridgeshire 10.5 49.7 
			 Cheshire 8.4 48.6 
			 Cleveland 9.0 48.9 
		
	
	
		
			 Cumbria 10.1 50.1 
			 Derbyshire 8.2 49.5 
			 Devon and Cornwall 10.1 43.8 
			 Dorset 11.3 53.5 
			 Durham 6.7 45.2 
			 Essex 8.3 48.3 
			 Gloucestershire 11.4 48.1 
			 Greater Manchester 7.3 44.5 
			 Hampshire 9.5 50.0 
			 Hertfordshire 8.2 48.9 
			 Humberside 14.5 60.0 
			 Kent 10.5 52.5 
			 Lancashire 7.9 49.7 
			 Leicestershire 11.2 52.0 
			 Lincolnshire 10.6 49.1 
			 Merseyside 6.3 48.5 
			 Norfolk 9.5 49.0 
			 North Yorkshire 9.0 46.3 
			 Northamptonshire 12.9 50.8 
			 Northumbria 6.3 44.1 
			 Nottinghamshire 9.8 53.2 
			 South Yorkshire 6.1 46.7 
			 Staffordshire 6.9 48.8 
			 Suffolk 10.3 50.4 
			 Surrey 9.9 48.9 
			 Sussex 10.1 49.6 
			 Thames Valley 8.7 45.4 
			 Warwickshire 10.3 54.1 
			 West Mercia 8.4 47.5 
			 West Midlands 8.6 47.4 
			 West Yorkshire 7.3 47.1 
			 Wiltshire 10.3 44.7 
			 Dyfed-Powys 11.3 46.4 
			 Gwent 8.3 44.2 
			 North Wales 9.8 47.2 
			 South Wales 8.6 44.7 
		
	
	The turnout figures at the 2009 European Parliament elections were:
	
		
			 2009 English European elections 
			 Percentage 
			  In-person turnout Postal voter turnout 
			 United Kingdom 30.3 64.4 
			 Great Britain 29.9 64.4 
			 England 30.8 64.7 
			 Northern Ireland 42.6 68.9 
			 Scotland 24.4 63.3 
			 Wales 25.4 61.7 
			 London 30.0 61.2 
			 South West 34.8 67.7 
			 South East 33.5 67.8 
			 Eastern 34.0 66.7 
			 West Midlands 31.3 66.1 
			 East Midlands 32.8 66.9 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 26.8 63.4 
			 North East 21.4 59.4 
			 North West 26.3 63.0

NORTHERN IRELAND

Northern Ireland Government

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions she has had with members of the US Administration on recent developments in Northern Ireland.

Theresa Villiers: I and officials in the NIO have remained in close contact with the US Administration on Northern Ireland matters such as the discussions to make progress on flags, parades and dealing with the past.
	I have also discussed with representatives of the US Government the importance of rebalancing the economy and building a genuinely shared future for everyone in Northern Ireland. I am grateful for all their support for a better future for Northern Ireland.

Terrorism

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people on remand or on bail in connection with terrorism-related charges are recipients of letters as part of the on-the-run scheme.

Theresa Villiers: Responsibility for the arrest and charging of an individual rests with the police and the prosecuting authorities. The judiciary holds responsibility for remand and bail conditions.
	On 11 March, Lady Justice Hackett was appointed to undertake an independent inquiry to provide a full public account of the operation and extent of the administrative scheme for dealing with so called “on-the-runs” that was established by the previous Government. This will include a factual check of all letters issued. I expect the report to be provided to me by the end of May 2014 for the purpose of its full publication.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Arts: Finance

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of funding was allocated to (a) London and (b) Greater Manchester in each of the last three years to support creative industries from Arts Council England.

Edward Vaizey: Arts Council England's (ACE) funding is not aimed directly at supporting the creative industries.

TREASURY

Excise Duties: Fuels

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the impact on (a) UK employment levels and (b) Gross Domestic Product of a cut in fuel duty of (i) three pence and (ii) one pence;
	(2)  how many meetings have taken place between (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department with FairFuelUK in each of the last two years.

Nicky Morgan: Since 2011, the Government have taken action on fuel duty to support both households and businesses. At autumn statement 2013 the Government cancelled the increase that was planned for September 2014, freezing fuel duty for remainder of Parliament. As a result of this Government's action, a typical motorist will save £680 in total by 2015-16, compared to the previous Government's plans.
	All fuel duty cuts and freezes since Budget 2011 have had to be fully funded, through tax rises or spending cuts elsewhere. The impact of any reductions will need to be considered in the context of the wider public finances.
	The Government regularly meet a range of stakeholders on fuel duty.

Gaming Machines

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of tax changes to fixed-odds betting terminals on (a) the number of betting shops and (b) the number of people employed in betting shops. [R]

David Gauke: The assessment of the impact of the changes to Machine Games Duty on B2 machines is available in the relevant Tax Information and Impacts Note published at Budget 2014. This document is accessible at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293860/TIIN_8074_machine_games_duty_higher_rate.pdf
	The main responses from consumers and bookmakers are explained in the relevant Policy Costing, available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293740/PU1638_policy_costings_budget_2014.pdf

Mortgages: Government Assistance

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what value of loans have been issued under the Help to Buy equity loan scheme; how many loans have been issued to date; and what proportion of recipients are first-time buyers in each (a) region and (b) local authority area.

Kris Hopkins: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	This Government are committed to supporting people's aspirations to own their own home.
	In the first 11 months of the scheme, 16,465 households purchased a new build home with the support of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme.
	By January 2014, the time of the last quarterly statistical release, first time buyers accounted for 89% of sales. The total value of these equity loans was £600 million.
	A local authority breakdown in transaction level data with a breakdown of the value of equity loans are available as Official Statistics at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-and-newbuy-statistics-april-2013-to-january-2014
	My Department does not publish statistics at a former Government office regional level, as outlined in the written statement of 18 December 2012, Official Report, columns 31-33WS.
	An additional table, with a breakdown of first-time buyers in each local authority has been created and will be deposited in the Library of the House.
	We have taken a conscious policy decision to make the Help to Buy equity loan scheme accessible to those other than first-time buyers: this is since we want to help “second steppers” move on and up the housing ladder, and since the scheme directly supports new build housing and helps boost housing supply and construction.
	Notwithstanding, individuals cannot rent out their existing property to buy a second home through the scheme, nor can the Help to Buy home be sub-let.
	The average price of a property bought under the scheme was £184,000, reflecting the fact that the scheme is supporting abroad spectrum of hard-working people.

Tax Evasion: Fuels

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions illegal fuel plants in Northern Ireland have been uncovered (a) when the fuel plant has still been operating and (b) at times when the plant had ceased being operational in the last two years.

Nicky Morgan: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fights fuel fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently announced, jointly with Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it much harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.
	In 2011-12 HMRC dismantled 29 fuel laundering plants in Northern Ireland, and 22 in 2012-13. As far as HMRC are aware, all plants were operational.

VAT

Julie Hilling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what response HM Revenue and Customs plans to make to the European Court of Justice judgment made in the case of the Bridport and West Dorset Golf Club on 19 December 2013 in relation to VAT refunds on green fees charged to non-members;
	(2)  if he will make an assessment of the effect on competition between proprietary and private members' golf clubs of being charged different rates of VAT as a result of the European Court of Justice judgment made in the case of the Bridport and West Dorset Golf Club on 19 December 2013 relating to VAT refunds on green fees charged to non-members.

David Gauke: HMRC intends to issue a Revenue and Customs brief in due course explaining its position following Bridport.
	There has been no assessment of the impact on competition. The different rates of VAT arise out of the application of EU law as determined by the European Court of Justice and the UK is bound to implement the court's decision

JUSTICE

Judges: Housing

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what the budget for judges' lodgings was in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14; and how much is so budgeted for 2014-15;
	(2)  what the budget was for each judges' lodging in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.

Shailesh Vara: The Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice are currently reviewing spend on judges' lodges, and intend to report the findings this spring. The most serious or complex cases are heard in courts nearest to where events took place so it's as convenient as possible for the victims or witnesses involved. This means High Court judges can spend long periods away at different courts around England and Wales, and they need secure and suitable accommodation when doing so. But, given the current financial climate, it is also vital we take a long, hard look at all departmental spending to ensure better value for hardworking taxpayers' money. That is exactly what we are doing.
	The budgets for judges' lodgings are provided as follows. All budget figures exclude payroll and other staff costs with exception for 2010-11 which excludes payroll costs but includes budget of £86,000 for agency staff. Payroll costs are met from the central budget for the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) estate directorate, which provides a shared service function for the management of the wider MOJ estate.
	
		
			  Budget (£) 
			 2010-11 2,494,000 
			 2011-12 1,658,000 
			 2012-13 1,600,000 
			 2013-14 2,920,000 
			 2014-15 n/a 
			 n/a = Not available 
		
	
	The budgets for different years cannot be compared as they are not on a like for like basis. The 2010-11 figure includes a budget for maintenance (£842,000) and the 2013-14 budget includes maintenance (£815,000) and total facilities management (£470,000). For 2011-12 and 2012-13, a decision was taken to include maintenance and total facilities management within the regional budgets for the whole estate.
	The budget for 2014-15 is not available as it has not been finalised. Budgets for individual lodgings are not produced as judges' lodgings are managed as a single service.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

British Standards Institution

Aidan Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will take steps to make access to BSI British Standards free to all UK businesses.

David Willetts: The Government have no plans to make access to BSI British Standards free to all UK businesses. There is a cost associated with developing standards for use within the UK and also for enabling UK stakeholders to participate in and shape European and international standards. However, BSI enables smaller businesses to benefit from discounted membership rates, and the cost of membership is offset by the savings made against the full price of standards. Users of large numbers of standards can also choose subscription modules.

UK Trade and Investment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what proportion of businesses using UK Trade & Investment's services are either fairly satisfied or very satisfied with the service they have received in 2013-14 to date.

Michael Fallon: UKTI monitors the performance and effectiveness of its trade services through Performance and Impact Monitoring Surveys (PIMS).
	In the 12 months to June 2013 (the most recent period for which results are available), PIMS reported that 76% of clients were very or fairly satisfied with UKTI support.
	For further information on UKTI's Performance and Impact Monitoring Survey (PIMS) please see the UKTI website:
	http://www.ukti.gov.uk/uktihome/aboutukti/ourperformance/performanceimpactandmonitoringsurvey/quarterlysurveys.html

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Green Deal Scheme

Oliver Colvile: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will enable Green Deal providers to access the supporting data for Green Deal reports held by his Department.

Stephen Williams: The Department does not hold data on Green Deal Advice Reports or Green Deal Finance Plans. DCLG is responsible for the data that produce Energy Performance Certificates, Display Energy Certificates and Air Conditioning Inspection Reports (ACIRs). This data are stored on the Energy Performance of Buildings Registers and are managed on DCLG's behalf by Landmark Information Group. The Registers currently contain data related to over 11 million energy certificates.
	In 2012 the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 were amended to make some of the data contained in the above documents publicly available. The data are available in bulk to authorised recipients (set out in regulations, and including Green Deal relevant persons) who have a need to process and analyse the data for purposes also set out in regulations. Authorised recipients are charged for the cost of supplying the data, and the disclosure of data to them is subject to conditions intended to protect certain types of information, including personal data. This data can be made available to promote energy efficiency improvements pursuant to a Green Deal plan and to determine whether these improvements have been made.
	The Department for Energy and Climate Change has a separate contract with Landmark Information Group to operate the Green Deal Register (i.e. separate to the contract that DCLG has with Landmark to operate the Energy Performance of Buildings Registers). The Green Deal Register contains lodgement data for Green Deal Advice Reports (and Green Deal Improvement Packages) as well as the data supporting Green Deal Finance Plans.

Rented Housing: Smoke Alarms

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the cost to landlords of fitting smoke alarms in all rented properties.

Kris Hopkins: An estimate of the cost to landlords of fitting smoke alarms in their properties has not been made. The English Housing Survey shows that 92% of homes in the social rented sector and 82% of privately rented properties have a smoke alarm. The cost of a smoke alarm ranges from about £5 for the most basic model to more than £25 for a hard-wired device. We recently published a discussion document on how we can improve property conditions in the private rented sector. Among other things, it invites views on whether landlords should be required to install smoke alarms in their properties.

Road Signs and Markings

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether there is a requirement for local authorities to remove apostrophes from street names and street signs.

Brandon Lewis: No. I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, column 670W.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Employment and Support Allowance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of initial employment and support allowance claims have taken over 91 days in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Michael Penning: The table estimates, for all new employment and support allowance (ESA) claims made in each of the last three years, which have had a determination in relation the work capability assessment (WCA), the proportion of claims that were completed in over 91 days.
	
		
			 Number and proportion of completed initial ESA claims each year between April 2010 and March 2013 that were completed in more than 13 weeks by year of claim start date 
			  ESA claim start date between: 
			  April 2010 to March 2011 April 2011 to March 2012 April 2012 to March 2013 
			 Completed in more than 13 weeks 231,700 316,000 364,700 
		
	
	
		
			 Percentage completed in more than 13 weeks 58 83 78 
			 Notes: 1. All values are rounded; therefore addition of all volumes for outcomes may not sum to total cases. Caseload volumes have been rounded to the nearest 100. 2. For around 10% of all new claims, the duration cannot be determined due to data not being available, so these have been excluded from the analysis above. These are mainly claims with the one or other of the dates missing so the time from the claim start to the notification of the WCA output cannot be calculated. Those still waiting for an assessment are also excluded. 3. The data presented above come from benefit claims data held by the Department for Work and Pensions. They related to new ESA claims; incapacity benefit (IB) claims reassessments are not included. In October 2008, ESA replaced IB for new claims. Starting with a trial in October 2010, and reaching a full scale national roll-out in April 2011, existing IB claims began to be phased out, with claimants reassessed to see if they qualify for ESA instead. 4. As the Official Statistics on ESA and the WCA do not focus on benefit durations, the underlying data used to provide the information has not been quality assured to the same level, and should be treated with caution. 5. ESA payments commence from the start of the claim. Where the WCA takes longer than 91 days and the claimant is found to be eligible for the benefit payments the relevant component will be backdated to the 92nd day. Source: Department for Work and Pensions benefit administration dataset.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of female-headed households which have had to relocate as a result of the under-occupancy penalty.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.
	A consortium has been commissioned to carry out a two year monitoring of the effects of the removal of the spare room subsidy measure across Great Britain. This consortium is led by Ipsos-MORI and includes the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research.
	The evaluation is taking place over a two year period, starting from April 2013 with a final report published in late 2015. The evaluation includes research with claimants, social landlords, local authority staff and voluntary organisations.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people paying the under-occupancy penalty who have fallen into rent arrears.

Esther McVey: In order to monitor the long term effects of the policy the Department has commissioned an independent, two year evaluation. The research will cover the full range of responses by claimants including the issue of rent arrears. The final report will be published in 2015

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much additional funding each local authority will receive to enable it to investigate whether claimants are eligible for refund of under-occupancy penalty payments in 2014-15.

Esther McVey: The Department has allocated a total of £18.4 million to local authorities to support the ongoing administrative costs of implementing welfare reform changes in 2014-15. This includes £2.1 million for the estimated costs of identifying claimants affected by the unintended exemption, which will be allocated to local authorities in line with the published number of claimants affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy in each local authority. Further details are included in a housing benefit circular at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hb-subsidy-circular-s22014-additional-funding-to-meet-the-costs-of-implementing-welfare-reform-changes-in-apr-2014-to-mar-2015

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria will be used by his Department to determine how much funding each local authority will receive to investigate those eligible to receive a refund of under-occupancy payments.

Esther McVey: An estimate of the overall costs has been made based on discussions with individual local authorities and local authority representative organisations. The allocation of funding has been based on the total number of claimants who currently have their spare room subsidy removed. The estimate reflects the work likely to be undertaken by local authorities, including the inspection of claim records to identify those potentially affected, collect further information, and make a decision.

Information Officers

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many press officers his Department employed in each of the last six years.

Michael Penning: We have been able to provide the information dating back to 2011. The number of press officers employed by the Department is as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 March 2014 20 
			 March 2013 20 
			 March 2012 23 
			 July 2011 31 
		
	
	By way of comparison in March 2010 the Department employed 54 press officers.

Social Security Benefits

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of female-headed households which have had to relocate as a result of the benefit cap.

Esther McVey: The information requested on what estimate has been made of the number of female-headed households that have had to relocate as a result of the benefit cap is not available.

Social Security Benefits: Young People

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many assessments have been conducted of 16 and 17 year olds to establish whether they are estranged from their parents in order to determine eligibility for benefits; how many of those assessed (a) were and (b) were not accepted as estranged; how many such decisions were appealed; and how many such appeals were successful in each of the last five years.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Unemployed People: Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proposals he has to tackle worklessness among social housing tenants.

Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus provides personalised support to help all unemployed people, including social housing tenants, into work. If claimants are at risk of long term unemployment, they are referred to tailored help offered by the Work programme.
	Where Jobcentre Plus district managers identify gaps in skills or other provision they have discretion to work with partner organisations, like social landlords, to support the provision of extra help to meet particular needs.

Unemployed People: Social Rented Housing

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on tackling worklessness among social housing tenants.

Esther McVey: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has met the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on a number of occasions and they have discussed a variety of issues.

Vacancies

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of zero-hours contract positions advertised in Jobcentre Plus in England in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: We do not advertise in jobcentres, all vacancies are now advertised on Universal Jobmatch. JSA claimants are not required to apply for zero hour contract jobs and are not penalised if they leave such a job.

Work Capability Assessment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are currently awaiting work capability assessments.

Michael Penning: In May 2010 there were 225,000 cases with Atos Healthcare and as of 28 February 2014 there were around 766,000 outstanding cases awaiting work capability assessments being completed. This figure does not include cases yet to be referred to Atos or cases referred to Atos but where the claimant has yet to return the claimant questionnaire.
	This includes:
	(a) around 371,000 new claimants of employment and support allowance who should be receiving the assessment rate of the benefit;
	(b) around 293,000 existing recipients of employment and support allowance awaiting a review; and
	(c) around 102,000 existing incapacity benefit recipients awaiting reassessment.
	This figure is based on operational management information received from Atos Healthcare and is rounded to the nearest thousand.

Work Capability Assessment

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average waiting time for applicants for employment and support allowance is between submission of the ESA50 form and the date of the work capability assessment.

Michael Penning: The average time from submission of an ESA50 to the completion of a face-to-face work capability assessment (for both employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment), for the period from February 2013 to January 2014, was 64 working days.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people on the Work Programme with (a) no qualification, (b) a qualification below Level 2, (c) a qualification at Level 2 and (d) a qualification at Level 3, 4 or above secured a sustained job outcome within two years of starting on the programme.

Esther McVey: The information as requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

All Party Groups

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his Department's policy is on allowing officials to appear before all-party parliamentary groups.

Gregory Barker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 300W.

Energy: Meters

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects the smart meter central delivery body to set out plans for assisting microbusinesses to use smart meters.

Gregory Barker: The Smart Meter Central Delivery Body intend to publish an updated Consumer Engagement Plan before the end of the year, where they will set out their plans for assisting microbusinesses.

Energy: Prices

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to his written statement of 11 March 2014, Official Report, columns 14-15WS, on EU Energy Council, what the evidential basis is for his statement that climate policy had had little impact on energy prices across Europe.

Gregory Barker: The written statement made by the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey) on 11 March 2014 was based on evidence drawn from the European Commission Staff Working Document “Energy prices and costs in Europe” and the International Energy Agency report, “World Energy Outlook 2013”.
	“Energy prices and costs in Europe” indicates that increases in network costs, taxes, and levies have contributed to rises in EU energy prices. However, the report also identifies that for 22 of the 27 member states surveyed, support for renewable electricity generation accounts for less than 10% of the household electricity price. It also finds a relatively small impact of the EU ETS carbon price on electricity retail prices either for industry or households.
	The International Energy Agency report, “World Energy Outlook 2013”, concludes that the recent widening of the gap between EU and US energy prices is mainly as a result of the sharp drop in wholesale gas prices in the United States due to soaring shale gas production, an increase in oil indexed gas prices in other regions, and higher spot prices for liquefied natural gas.

Energy: Prices

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to reduce the effect of rises in rural and off-grid energy bills on the cost of living.

Gregory Barker: In addition to the £50 reduction in energy bills we have delivered, we are committed to helping the most vulnerable, including those in rural areas and off-grid. This year's Buy Oil Early campaign, coordinated by DECC, was launched by industry in September. DECC has also worked with industry and consumer representative organisations to provide guidance on forming oil buying clubs which will allow savings through bulk buying.
	Making homes more energy efficient is vital in order to reduce energy bills. The Green Deal offers a way for homeowners to identify and pay for the most effective energy efficiency measures for their home, such as insulation and more efficient boilers.
	Customers on a low income or in a hard-to-insulate property may be able get additional support through the energy company obligation. We are also currently consulting on changes to the energy company obligation that will drive greater delivery to off-gas households and make it easier for suppliers to deliver to rural areas.
	Renewable heating systems allow off-gas grid householders to switch from more expensive fossil fuels. The launch of the domestic Renewable Heat Incentive by Easter will provide payments to homeowners and help drive the uptake of such systems.
	DECC is also working to ensure the fuel poverty strategy will reflect the needs of the most severely fuel poor in off-gas grid areas when it is published later this year.

Energy: Social Enterprises

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effects on the community energy sector of removing eligibility for Enterprise Investment Scheme awards from business qualifying for renewable obligation certificates.

Michael Fallon: Eligibility for the Enterprise Investment Scheme is a matter for HM Treasury who will be consulting stakeholders on the proposals in due course.

Lighting

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress he has made in negotiations with the European Commission on a derogation from the ban on the import or manufacture of incandescent bulbs; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: Responsibility for energy-using products policy, including negotiations for product-specific regulations under the ecodesign for energy-related products directive, was transferred from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to the Department of Energy and Climate Change on 3 March 2014.
	There are no provisions allowing the European Commission or individual member states to create exemptions from Regulation 244/2009, which phases out incandescent bulbs.
	The UK has been proactive in pressing to ensure EU policy and legislation takes full account of the potential health implications of artificial lighting, and has raised the issue in two recent meetings in Brussels. EC regulation 244/2009 will be reviewed later this year and we will continue to press for potential health implications to be considered.

CABINET OFFICE

Conditions of Employment

Alison McGovern: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to ensure the accuracy of the figures for zero-hour contracts in the Labour Force Survey.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills asking what steps he is taking to ensure the accuracy of the figures for zero-hour contracts in the Labour Force Survey. (193442)
	The Labour Force Survey (LFS) information on zero-hours contracts currently comes from a question regarding flexible working. People in employment are asked what variable working arrangements, if any, they have and to select from a list which has “zero-hours contract” as an option. The results from the LFS therefore depend on respondents recognising correctly their employment contract type.
	To address this ONS is currently working to produce an employer based estimate of the number of jobs where the contract does not guarantee a minimum number of hours (sometimes referred to as “zero-hour contracts”). This will provide a robust estimate of the number of jobs with this type of contract.
	At end April 2014 ONS plans to produce a comprehensive report, bringing together estimates from the employer based survey alongside data from the LFS, and considering the definitional differences that exist.
	Alongside this ONS is also developing and testing new questions for the Labour Force Survey regarding the guaranteed contracted hours of employees, which will identify those who have no guaranteed hours. If testing is successful, the new questions will be introduced to the LFS from January 2015, as this is the month when annual changes are made to the LFS questionnaire.

Employment: Rossendale

Jake Berry: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of the working population of Rossendale and Darwen constituency is employed in the (a) public and (b) private sector.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what proportion of the working population of Rossendale and Darwen constituency is employed in the (a) public and (b) private sector. (193530)
	Employment statistics for local areas are calculated from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. In the APS the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents' views about the organisation for which they work. The public sector estimates provided do not correspond to official Public Sector Employment estimates. Those are derived directly from employers and are based on a National Accounts definition and are not available for areas smaller than regions.
	Table 1 shows the percentage of people in employment aged 16 years and over who were employed in the public or private sectors. Table 2 shows the number of people aged 16 years and over employed in the public and private sectors resident in Rossendale and Darwen constituency. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period January 2013 to December 2013, the latest period available.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Percentage of people in employment aged 16 years and over in the public and private sectors1, resident in Rossendale and Darwen constituency 
			 Percentage 
			  Employed 
			 12 months ending: Public Private 
			 December 2013 30.1 69.9 
			 1 Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. Source: Annual Population Survey 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of people aged 16 years and over employed in the public and private sectors1, resident in Rossendale and Darwen constituency 
			 Thousand 
			  Employed 
			 12 months ending: Public Private 
			 December 20132 ***13 **31 
			 1 Individuals in the APS are classified to the public or private sector according to their responses to the survey. 2 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≥ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey

Ovarian Cancer: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many women in Warrington were (a) diagnosed with ovarian cancer and (b) had ovarian cancer listed as a cause of death in each of the last five years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many and what proportion of women in (a) the UK and (b) the North West were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the last five years for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking the Secretary of State for Health:
	1) How many women in Warrington were (a) diagnosed with ovarian cancer and (b) had ovarian cancer listed as a cause of death in each of the last five years for which figures are available
	2) How many and what proportion of women in (a) the UK and (b) the North West were diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the last five years for which figures are available. [193396].
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2011. The latest available figures for deaths registrations are for the year 2012. Table 1 provides the number of (a) newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer, for the years 2007 to 2011, and (b) deaths with an underlying cause of ovarian cancer, for the years 2007 to 2012, for women in Warrington local authority. Six years of mortality data have been provided to present the most recent year available with the figures for the five years of incidence data available.
	Table 2 provides (a) the number of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer and (b) the proportion (per cent) of the female population with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, for the years 2007 to 2011, for women in the North West and the United Kingdom.
	The latest published figures on cancer incidence for the UK constituent countries are available on the following websites:
	England:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/vsob1/cancer-statistics-registrations--england--series-mb1-/index.html
	Wales:
	http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=242&pid=70275
	Scotland:
	http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Cancer-Statistics/Female-Genital-Organ/#ovary
	Northern Ireland:
	http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/CancerData/OnlineStatistics/Ovary/
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer1, 2 and number of registered deaths5 where the underlying cause was ovarian cancer4, Warrington local authority3, 2007 to 20126 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
			 Incidence 17 9 22 16 21 - 
		
	
	
		
			 Deaths 9 5 10 10 15 13 
			 ‘-’ Denotes not available 1 Cancer of the ovary is coded as C56 (Malignant neoplasm of ovary), according to the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10). 2 Cancer incidence figures are based on newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year. 3 Figures are based on boundaries correct as at February 2014 and exclude non-residents. 4 Underlying cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codeC56. 5 Figures are based on deaths registered rather than deaths occurring in a calendar year. Further information on registration delays for a range of causes including ovarian cancer can be found on the ONS website: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/user-guidance/health-and-life-events/impact-of-registration-delays-on-mortality-statistics/index.html 6 Cancer incidence data have not been published for 2012 and is therefore unavailable. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS) 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Number of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian cancer and the percentage of the female population with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, North West and United Kingdom1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 2007 to 2011 
			  2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
			 North West 717 677 781 794 814 
			 Percentage of North West Female population diagnosed 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 
			       
			 United Kingdom 6,805 6,650 6,838 6,781 6,756 
			 Percentage of UK Female population diagnosed 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 
			 1 Cancer of the ovary is coded as C56 (Malignant neoplasm of ovary), according to the International Classification of Diseases Tenth Revision (ICD-10). 2 Cancer incidence figures are based on newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year. 3 Figures are based on boundaries correct as at February 2014 and exclude non-residents. 4 More information on Welsh Cancer data can be found at the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance unit: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/page.cfm?orgid=242&pid=70275 5 More information on Scottish Cancer data can be found at the ISD Scotland: http://www.isdScotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Cancer-Statistics/Female-Genital-Organ/#ovary 6 More Information on Northern Ireland Cancer data can be found at the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/CancerData/OnlineStatistics/Ovary/ 7 Percentages are calculated using mid-year population estimates for the United Kingdom and the North West Region.

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) 18 year olds and (b) people under 25 have been out of work for over a year; and what the equivalent figures were in each of the last six years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Caron Walker, dated March 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) 18 year olds and (b) people under 25 have been out of work for over a year; and what the equivalent figures were in each of the last six years. 193505
	Estimates of unemployment by age are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The table provides estimates for period 2008 to 2013 for the number of people aged 25 and under who have been unemployed for over 12 months. Due to the small sample size, it is not possible to provide estimates for 18 year olds.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. These are indicated by the guide to quality in the table.
	
		
			 Number of unemployed people, by duration for select age groups, three months ending November each year, 2008 to 2013, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Aged 16 to 24 years 
			  Unemployed all over 12 months (thousand) As a percentage of all unemployed in age group (%) 
			 2008 119 17.5 
			 2009 187 28.1 
			 2010 233 29.4 
			 2011 245 27.3 
			 2012 275 29.1 
			 2013 256 *25.0 
			 Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV <5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV ≥ Coefficient of Variation Source: Labour Force Survey.

HEALTH

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which private sector clinics and hospitals provide abortions; how many beds there are in each facility; whether each facility is approved for (a) surgical day care abortions with or without general anaesthetic and (b) late abortions; and what the name is of the proprietor of each such facility.

Jane Ellison: The information is in the table. The Department no longer collects information on the number of beds in each clinic or hospital.
	
		
			 Name of clinic Proprietor Undertakes surgical day care abortions Performs terminations up to 24 weeks gestation 
			 Marie Stopes Blackpool Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Bristol Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Calthorpe Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Canterbury Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Essex Centre Marie Stopes International Yes Yes 
		
	
	
		
			 Marie Stopes Central London Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Hemel Hempstead Marie Stopes International No No 
			 Marie Stopes Leeds Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Maidstone Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Manchester International Centre Marie Stopes International Yes Yes 
			 Marie Stopes North London Centre, Edgware Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Preston Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Reading Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes South London Centre Marie Stopes International Yes Yes 
			 Marie Stopes West London Centre Marie Stopes International Yes Yes 
			 MSI Birmingham Clinic Marie Stopes International Yes Yes 
			 MSI Slough Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 MSI Wakefield Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes Sandwell Marie Stopes International Yes Yes 
			 Marie Stopes Stevenage Marie Stopes International No No 
			 Marie Stopes West Mendips Marie Stopes International No No 
			 Marie Stopes South Shields Centre Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 Marie Stopes South Shields EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Manchester EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Hounslow EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI North London EMU Marie Stopes International Yes No 
			 MSI Hillingdon EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Finsbury Park EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI King's Lynn Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Lewisham EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Norwich Marie Stopes International Yes Yes 
			 MSI Thetford Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Central Birmingham EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Bolton EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Wembley EMU Marie Stopes International No No 
			 MSI Croydon Marie Stopes International No No 
			 BPAS Aldershot BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Andover BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Banbury BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Basingstoke Clinic. BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Birmingham South ( Robert Clinic) BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Bournemouth (Dean Park) BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Brierley Hill BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Brighton (Wistons) Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Cannock Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Central Birmingham Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Central London Clinic BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Chester Clinic BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Chichester BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Coventry Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Crawley BPAS No . No 
			 BPAS Danum Lodge (Doncaster) Clinic BPAS Yes Yes 
			 BPAS Hastings BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Leamington Spa Clinic BPAS Yes. Yes 
			 BPAS Leeds Clinic BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS London East (Stratford) DCU BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Luton Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Merseyside Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Middlesbrough BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Milton Keynes DCU BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Newcastle Clinic BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS North London Day Surgery Unit BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Oxford BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Peterborough Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Portsmouth BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Richmond (Rosslyn) Clinic BPAS Yes Yes 
			 BPAS Solihull BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Southampton BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Streatham (Leigham) Clinic BPAS Yes Yes 
		
	
	
		
			 BPAS Swindon Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Tamworth Daycare Unit BPAS No. No 
			 BPAS Tottenham BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Winchester (Royal Hamps Hpl) BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Winchester Clinic BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Wolverhampton Day Care Unit BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Dorchester BPAS Yes No 
			 BPAS Portsmouth Central BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Finsbury Park BPAS No No 
			 BPAS Amersham ¦BPAS No No 
			 BMI The Blackheath Hospital BMI Healthcare Ltd Yes No 
			 BMI The Chaucer Hospital BMI Healthcare Ltd Yes No 
			 BMI The Clementine Churchill Hospital BMI Healthcare Ltd Yes No 
			 BMI Three Shires Hospital BMI Healthcare Ltd No No 
			 BMI The Park Hospital BMI Healthcare Ltd Yes No 
			 Bodmin NHS Treatment Centre Ramsay Health Care UK Operations Ltd Yes No 
			 Duchy Hospital Ramsay Health Care UK Operations Ltd Yes No 
			 Fitzwilliam Hospital Ramsay Health Care UK Operations Ltd No No 
			 Pinehill Hospital Ramsay Health Care UK Operations Ltd Yes No 
			 Fraterdrive Blackpool Pregnancy Advisory Service Fraterdrive Ltd No No 
			 Fraterdrive Bolton Clinic Fraterdrive Ltd Yes No 
			 Fraterdrive East Mids Fraterdrive Ltd Yes No 
			 Fraterdrive Unplanned Pregnancy Service Mansfield Fraterdrive Ltd Yes No 
			 Fraterdrive Unplanned Pregnancy Service Newark Fraterdrive Ltd Yes No 
			 Fraterdrive Manchester Fraterdrive Ltd Yes No 
			 Fraterdrive Stoke PAS Fraterdrive Ltd No No 
			 Stoke Pregnancy Advisory Service Fraterdrive Ltd No No 
			 South Manchester Private Clinic Fraterdrive Ltd No No 
			 Salford Pregnancy Advisory Service Fraterdrive Ltd No No 
			 Edgware Pregnancy Advisory Service Fraterdrive Ltd No No 
			 Finchley Pregnancy Advisory Service Fraterdrive Ltd No No 
			 Redbridge Pregnancy Advisory Service Fraterdrive Ltd Yes No 
			 The Portland Hospital HCA International Yes Yes 
			 The Wellington Hospital HCA International No No 
			 Nottingham NHS Treatment Centre Nations Healthcare Yes No 
			 Spire Alexandra Spire Yes No 
			 Spire Bristol Spire Yes No 
			 Spire Bushey Spire Yes No 
			 Spire Cheshire Spire Yes No 
			 Spire Hull and East Riding Spire Yes No 
			 Spire Leicester Spire Yes No 
			 Spire Murrayfield Spire Yes Yes 
			 Spire Washington Spire Yes No 
			 The Gynae Centre Gynae Centre Ltd No No

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions there were at (a) 26 weeks and (b) each week after the 26th in each category of grounds for termination in 2012.

Jane Ellison: Information is in the following table:
	
		
			 Abortions by gestation 26 weeks and over, residents of England and Wales, 2012 
			 Gestation week Number 
			 26 18 
			 27 15 
			 28 8 
			 29 8 
			 30 13 
			 31 9 
			 32 8 
			 33 7 
			 34 3 
			 35 4 
			 36 3 
			 37 2 
			 40 1 
			   
			 Total 99 
		
	
	All 99 abortions were performed under Ground E, there is substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped (section l(l)(d)).

Breast Cancer

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with NHS England on ensuring that future iterations of the Cancer Patient Experience Survey include questions targeted at those with secondary breast cancer.

Jane Ellison: There have been no ministerial discussions with NHS England on ensuring that future iterations of the Cancer Patient Experience Survey include questions targeted at those with secondary breast cancer.
	The questions in the Cancer Patient Experience Survey are designed to capture the experience of patients with all types of cancer at different stages of their care and are therefore deliberately not ‘cancer type specific’.

Cancer: Drugs

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to collect information on the number of (a) approved and (b) rejected applications to the Cancer Drugs Fund.

Norman Lamb: From April 2013 NHS England has had oversight of the Cancer Drugs Fund and the collection of information on the Fund is matter for NHS England.
	NHS England publishes quarterly information on the number of applications automatically approved under the Cancer Drugs Fund cohort policies list. It also publishes information on the number of individual Cancer Drugs Fund applications, including those refused by the Cancer Drugs Fund panel. This information is available at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/

Direct Payments

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an assessment of the potential effects of the provisions of the Consumer Rights Bill on the provision of social care services to users commissioning such services through direct payments.

Norman Lamb: Where health and social care is contractually provided to a consumer by a business it is within the scope of chapter 4 part 1 and part 2 of the Consumer Rights Bill.
	Chapter 4 of part 1 of the Consumer Rights Bill sets out that services within scope must be provided by traders with reasonable care and skill and that they must be in line with certain information given to the consumer by the trader. Where there are other enactments that define or restrict rights, duties or liabilities, the provisions of those enactments take precedence over the provisions in chapter 4, part 1 (see clause 53). Part 2 sets out when and what basis terms in applicable consumer contracts can be assessed for fairness.
	Adult social care personal budgets, in the form of direct payments, are local authority funding that allows a person to purchase adult care and support directly, making their own choice about the services they buy and the organisations they buy from. In this case, the agreement is between the consumer and the ultimate provider. That is, a contract for services covered by the Consumer Rights Bill.
	However, even where a person purchases care using a direct payment, the local authority still retains a duty to ensure the person's needs are met. In cases where the contractual arrangement breaks down, the local authority must ensure care and support needs continue to be met.

Female Genital Mutilation

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women and girls received NHS treatment in each foundation trust area after having undergone a female genital mutilation procedure in each of the last three years.

Jane Ellison: Information on female genital mutilation (FGM) is not currently collected centrally in the Department.
	However, from April, all (foundation and non-foundation) national health service acute hospitals will report to the Department on the prevalence of female genital mutilation within their patient population, including the total number of patients who have undergone FGM or been treated for FGM (for example, de-infibulation).
	This information will be returned to the Department every month with compliance on this required by September.

Foetal Death

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on disposal of foetal remains through incineration to heat hospitals.

Daniel Poulter: The Department considers incineration (including ‘waste to energy’ incineration) an unacceptable means of disposing of foetal remains.
	To help provide clarity on this, the national medical director, NHS England has written to all national health service trusts and foundation trusts to make clear his view that this practice is inappropriate.
	Also, following correspondence from the chief medical officer, the Human Tissue Authority has confirmed that it will revise its codes and guidance to make clear that incineration of foetal tissue is not acceptable. It will also examine disposal policies when inspecting licensed establishments and ensure that the policy is enforced.

General Practitioners: Rural Areas

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will establish a strategic small surgeries fund to help small rural GPs affected by the new funding formulae.

Daniel Poulter: The Department recognises that the withdrawal of the Minimum Practice Income Guarantee (MPIG) for general practices has raised concerns about the viability of some small practices. That is why we have made the decision to take the next seven years to implement the change to MPIG funding fully. Phasing the changes over this period will allow the minority of practices that lose funding to adjust gradually to the reduction in payments.
	NHS England area teams are working with the small number of practices that are particularly affected to consider if different arrangements need to be in place to ensure there are appropriate primary medical services for local populations in place.

Health Protection Agency

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff at each grade were employed in each of the private offices of the directors of the Health Protection Agency in the 12 months prior to April 2013.

Jane Ellison: The only Health Protection Agency (HPA) director who had a private office was Justin McCracken, its chief executive. It comprised two full-time staff employed on national health service terms and conditions: a personal assistant (Agenda for Change band 6) and a private office administrator (Agenda for Change band 4). The HPA chairman's personal assistant (Agenda for Change band 6) provided some ad-hoc support to the chief executive's private office in addition to their normal duties.

In Vitro Fertilisation

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Enfield, Southgate, of 8 January 2014, Official Report, columns 267-8W, on in vitro fertilisation, 
	(1)  whether Klaus Reinhardt, Damian Dowling, or Edward Morrow were invited to contribute evidence pursuant to their paper in response to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's recent call for scientific evidence from experts in any relevant field on the safety or efficacy of pro-nuclear transfer and maternal spindle transfer techniques; whether Paul Knoepfler was invited to contribute evidence to this inquiry; which other individual scientists, research groups or learned societies were notified about this new call for evidence; and how much advance notice each such person was given of the deadline for written submissions;
	(2)  in which scientific periodicals were notices placed to advertise the recent call from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) for scientific evidence from experts in any relevant field on the safety or efficacy of pro-nuclear transfer and maternal spindle transfer techniques; where else the call for evidence was publicly advertised; and when the report to be published on the HFEA website will be available to members of the public.

Jane Ellison: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that it published its call for evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of pro-nuclear transfer and maternal spindle transfer techniques on its website on 7 March. It informed a range of scientific bodies and institutions, as well as researchers in the field about the call for evidence. The individuals mentioned were either approached as corresponding authors or have already submitted evidence to the review. The call for evidence remained open until 21 March 2014.
	Following the process used for the two previous reviews, the call for evidence was not published in any scientific periodicals, but was advertised on the HFEA website. The report will be published in late May.

Medical Records: Databases

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish all representations made to him by NHS England on the care.data scheme.

Daniel Poulter: There have been no representations made by NHS England on the care.data scheme.

Medical Records: Databases

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with NHS England on the time taken to roll-out the care.data scheme.

Daniel Poulter: The Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) holds regular meetings with NHS England including the technology priorities and care.data features in those discussions from time to time.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, columns 725-6W, on mental health services, what critical steps were set out at the third Choice in the Mental Health Workshop on 12 March 2014; and if he will publish the minutes of that workshop and the programme that emerged from it.

Norman Lamb: The legal right to choice of provider is extended to mental health services from 1 April 2014.
	Officials from the Department and NHS England co-chaired a series of workshops with key partners from across the mental health system during February and March to prioritise the development of guidance for commissioners, providers and general practitioners (GPs). This will help patients and professionals understand the new right, and utilise the existing systems, pricing and payment arrangements, and processes to implement it. The workshops were not minuted. Officials have also updated the Choice Framework, which provides information to patients on their rights to choice.
	Further workshops are planned with mental health providers to help them make information about their services available to patients and GPs to support informed choice. Officials will continue to work with NHS England and key partners to embed patients' rights to choice in mental health by 2015, as set out in the NHS Mandate. The guidance and Choice Framework will be published shortly.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department has taken to ensure that patients' views and feedback are taken into account in the delivery of mental health services.

Norman Lamb: The Department is clear that the most important measure of quality is what people who use mental health services think. There are a range of national surveys which both collect feedback from patients and ensure that it is used in the design, development and delivery of services.
	Responsibility for the national surveys previously carried out by the Department passed to NHS England on 1 April 2013.
	The NHS England intelligence programme is promoting the use of Patient Reported Outcome Measures and Patient Reported Experience Measures to inform service planning.
	The Francis Report highlighted the Friends and Family Test (FFT) as one of the most important mechanisms for identifying poor quality services early. The FFT asks patients and staff how likely they are to recommend a health or care provider's services to their friends and family if they needed similar care or treatment.
	The FFT is already being used in a number of mental health care settings. From the end of December 2014, it will be used routinely in all mental health care settings. But we are encouraging providers to start using it sooner.
	A range of services, including Improving Access to Psychological Therapies, monitor quality and outcomes through patient experience questionnaires as part of quality assurance processes. We would expect services to act on this information to improve services.
	The Care Quality Commission Community Mental Health Survey provides annual information at both national and trust level. This allows trusts to act on the feedback at a local level and make improvements in the delivery of services.

Mental Illness

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the level of mental illness has been in (a) Harlow constituency, (b) Essex and (c) England in each year since 1997.

Norman Lamb: Information on the levels of mental illness in Harlow constituency, Essex and England is not held in the format requested. However, we are advised by the Health and Social Care Information Centre of the following:
	
		
			 People using NHS funded adult and elderly secondary mental health services by Essex Commissioner, 2008-09 to 2012-13 
			 Number of people1 
			  Total 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Number of people in contact with specialist mental health services in England 1,222,536 1,270,731 1,287,730 1,607,153 1,590,332 
			 Essex total 37,128 38,689 44,145 51,294 44,705 
			 South East Essex PCT 7,141 7,044 10,103 12,542 8,907 
			 West Essex PCT 7,168 7,702 7,536 8,131 8,396 
			 North East Essex PCT 7,019 7,208 7,191 7,287 8,133 
			 Mid Essex PCT 7,858 8,338 8,121 8,553 9,272 
			 South West Essex PCT 7,942 8,397 11,194 14,781 9,997 
			       
			 Number of referrals to Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Services in England — — — — 761,848 
			       
			 Essex IAPT total2,3 — — — — 6,706 
			 1 From 2011-12 onwards, people are counted once during the year at their highest level of care at each provider from which they receive services. The sum of commissioner totals is therefore likely to be higher than the total in national tables. This differs to previous reporting years, where people were only counted once at their highest level across all organisations. People may be present in both the IAPT and MHMDS returns. 2 The first IAPT national report was published in 2012-13 so data for earlier years are not available. 3 As this is the first year of reporting from the IAPT dataset, only those referrals received in the year are included. Referrals that predate this point are not included in the figures. Sources: Health and Social Care Information Centre Mental Health Minimum Dataset (MHMDS) 2008-09 to 2012-13 and IAPT dataset 2012-13.To fully understand the data quality issues from the first year of IAPT submissions, please refer to the background data quality report, which can be found here: http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13339 It should be noted that data in relation to 2008-09 to 2010-11 are derived from MHMDS quarterly returns, while 2011-12 and 2012-13 data are based on the MHMDS annual file.

Obesity: Children

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of children in (a) Harlow constituency, (b) Essex and (c) England were classed as overweight each year since 1997.

Jane Ellison: The proportion of children overweight in Harlow, Essex and England as measured by the National Child Measurement Programme 2006-07 to 2012-13 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Prevalence of overweight1 among children aged 4-5 (Reception) and 10-11 (Year 6) years 
			 Percentage 
			  England Essex county council Harlow district council 
			  Reception Year 6 Reception Year 6 Reception Year 6 
			 2006-07 22.9 31.7 20.5 29.2 23.0 33.0 
			 2007-08 22.6 32.6 21.1 31.0 23.0 35.6 
			 2008-09 22.8 32.6 20.3 29.7 26.4 37.2 
			 2009-10 23.1 33.4 22.4 31.3 25.2 38.6 
			 2010-11 22.6 33.4 20.9 31.7 23.9 36.5 
		
	
	
		
			 2011-12 22.6 33.9 20.6 31.9 25.3 35.1 
			 2012-13 22.2 33.3 20.4 30.0 20.3 34.7 
			 1 Including obese.

Opiates

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the costs to the NHS of krokodil;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the health risks associated with krokodil.

Jane Ellison: Krokodil is a street name for “backstreet” made desomorphine, which is an opioid, sharing the same health risks as other opioids. Depending on how much has been taken, the health risks of opioids range from constipation, itching, nausea and retching, lethargy, dizziness or fainting, to suppression of normal breathing, respiratory arrest and death. It is reported that due to the nature of krokodil's production, it can be contaminated with the chemicals used during its manufacture, which can have additional harmful effects, such as:
	possible brain damage with loss of motor skills;
	rapid local damage to blood vessels, muscles and bones near to injection sites resulting in abscesses, thrombophlebitis and gangrene;
	possible typical skin lesions around the injection site (reportedly green grey colour with a scaly appearance), which may lead to developing gangrene, which can result in the loss of a limb, and can be fatal; and
	other organ damage.
	Krokodil is usually injected so carries the health risks associated with injecting opioids, such as damage to veins and arteries, which can lead to gangrene and infections. If needles, syringes and other equipment involved in injecting are shared there is the possibility of catching a serious infection like hepatitis B, hepatitis C and/or HIV/AIDS. Mixing any opioid with alcohol, or with other sedatives such as benzodiazepines, makes an overdose more likely, which can lead to a coma or respiratory failure and death.
	There have been no confirmed cases of krokodil use in the United Kingdom. Therefore, there has been no assessment of the cost to the national health service.

Ovarian Cancer

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that women diagnosed with ovarian cancer should be tested for the BRCA 1/2 gene on diagnosis.

Jane Ellison: This is a matter for NHS England, which advises that the issue of testing for the BRCA1/2 gene in women diagnosed with ovarian cancer has recently been put to its specialised gynaecology Clinical Reference Group (CRG). The national clinical director for cancer has asked the specialised gynaecology CRG to scope out what the issues are in order to inform NHS England.
	Current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines recommend offering genetic testing to people with a 10% likelihood of carrying a BRCA1/2 mutation.

Pregnancy

Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the potential benefits of pre-term at-risk profiling to (a) identify women at risk of stillbirth, (b) ensure those at risk receive increased monitoring and preventative measures and (c) reduce potentially damaging stress on those who are in an at-risk group but are not themselves at risk.

Daniel Poulter: At their booking appointment, women will be assessed for risk factors for stillbirth. These range from social and lifestyle factors to clinical ones such as previous history of stillbirth. Such risk profiling helps to determine the appropriate care a woman will receive. Once a woman is identified at risk due to fetal growth restriction or other risk, increased surveillance can be instigated, including a plan for delivery. In conjunction with SANDS, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity, the Department is currently considering a public awareness campaign to highlight risk factors for stillbirth. NHS England has taken part in these discussions.
	In line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines:
	http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG62/Guidance/pdf/English
	risk profiling allows for increased surveillance of at risk women and this, coupled with better scanning and detection of growth-restricted babies, allows women in at risk groups to be clearer about their own personal level of risk.

Prescriptions

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were issued in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 for medical conditions that (i) qualified for and (ii) did not qualify for prescription charge exemptions.

Norman Lamb: In the calendar year 2012, 73.5 million of dispensed prescription items, which accounted for 7.3% of the total of 1,000.5 million prescription items dispensed in 2012, were exempt from a charge as a result of medical exemption.
	Information on the number of charge-exempt prescriptions in 2013 will be available in July this year.
	No reliable information is held centrally on the number of prescription items which were exempt from charges in 2011 or previous years.
	This information was provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC). It should be noted that HSCIC records only one exemption category per prescription item, so that prescriptions for a patient who is, for example, exempt from prescription charges on the grounds of age as well as due to a medical condition would be recorded under one or the other, but not both, of these categories. The information does not record if more than one exemption category applies.

Public Health England

Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) salary level and (d) professional qualifications of each director who has worked at Public Health England since that body's formation; and if he will state whether each such position was advertised publicly.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Name Job title Professional qualifications How appointed Salary level 
			 Duncan Selbie Chief Executive MSc Open competition £185,000 to £190,000 
			 Professor Viv Bennett Director of Nursing and Midwifery MSc RN RHV Secondment 1- 
			 Lis Birrane Director of Communications NCTJ Proficiency Certificate PGDip Job matching £100,000 to £105,000 
			 Michael Brodie Director of Finance and Commercial CPFA Open competition 2£105,000 to £110,000 
			 Dr Paul Cosford Director for Health Protection and Medical Director MBBS MSc MRCPsych FFPHM Job matching £160,000 to £165,000 
			 Dr Yvonne Doyle Regional Director MD MPH FRCPI FFPHM FFPHMI DCH Job matching £165,000 to £170,000 
			 Professor Kevin Fenton Director of Health and Wellbeing MBBS MSc Dip GUM FFPH PHD Open competition £175,000 to £180,000 
			 Richard Gleave Chief Operating Officer MSc Open competition £130,000 to £135,000 
			 Dr Jenny Harries Regional Director MBChB MPH MBA PGDip PGCert FFPH FCMI Open competition £125,000 to £130,000 
			 Professor Paul Johnstone Regional Director BM MSc MRCGP FFPH Job matching £180,000 to £185,000 
			 Jonathan Marron Director of Strategy MBA Open competition £110,000 to £115,000 
			 Dr Christine McCartney Director of Microbiology Services PhD MRCPath FRCPath Fixed term appointment £55,000 to £60,000 
			 Stephen Morris Development Advisor None Secondment £120,000 to £125,000 
			 Professor John Newton Chief Knowledge Officer MBBS MRCP MSc (Community Medicine), MFPH FRCP FFPH Honorary Professor of Public Health and Epidemiology (University of Manchester) Open competition £165,000 to £170,000 
			 Dr Rashmi Shukla Regional Director BM FRCP FFPH Job matching £165,000 to £170,000 
			 Alex Sienkiewicz Chief of Staff None Secondment £110,000 to £115,000 
			 Tony Vickers-Byrne Director of Human Resources FCIPD DMS PGCE Masters in Workforce Planning Job matching £100,000 to £105,000 
			 Sally Warren Director of Programmes None Open competition £80,000 to £85,000 
			 1 No cost to Public Health England paid by Department of Health. 2 Part year since 24 June.

Public Health England

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff of what grades there are in each of the private offices of the directors of Public Health England.

Jane Ellison: The only Public Health England Director with a private office is Duncan Selbie, the Chief Executive. It comprises three full time staff: one Grade 6 Private Secretary, one Higher Executive Officer Personal Assistant and one Executive Officer Diary Manager. All have been appointed through open competition.

Skin Cancer

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had on (a) the number of treatment options available as a first line to patients with advanced melanoma and (b) the clinical effectiveness of the treatment options available as a first line to patients with advanced melanoma; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: We have had no recent discussions on these issues but drug options for the first-line treatment of advanced melanoma were raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Derbyshire (Pauline Latham) during oral questions on 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 159 and during a debate in Westminster Hall on Cancer Treatment and Prevention on 11 March 2014, Official Report, column 38WH.

Soft Drinks: Schools

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to reduce the availability of energy drinks at schools.

Jane Ellison: Legislation on school food standards does not allow energy drinks to be provided by schools. Additionally, a school could decide to specifically ban energy drinks from being brought onto, or consumed on, school premises.
	The Department for Education is currently consulting on a clearer set of school food standards. These revised standards will be available to schools and others, accompanied by practical guidance, from September 2014, becoming statutory from January 2015.
	The Food Standards Agency advises that children and other people who are sensitive to caffeine should consume caffeine only in moderation. In the United Kingdom, many high caffeine drinks already voluntarily include advice about their unsuitability for children. In December 2014 similar labelling will become mandatory.

Tobacco: Packaging

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to (a) receive and (b) publish his response to Sir Cyril Chantler's independent review of the public health impact of standardised tobacco packaging.

Jane Ellison: Health Ministers expect to receive Sir Cyril Chantler's report very shortly, after which it will be published.

Visual Impairment: Children

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the proportion of children aged four and five years who have received screening for visual defects since 1 April 2013; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure such screening is provided universally across England in line with the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee.

Daniel Poulter: Data on the number of children aged four to five years who have received screening for visual defects since 1 April 2013 are not held centrally.
	On 21 November 2013 the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommended that all children between four to five years of age should continue to be screened for vision defects by an orthoptist-led service. Vision defects include amblyopia, refractive error and strabismus. The UK NSC agreed that more work was needed to improve the consistency and quality of current services. The Programme Director for the UK NSC is working with the Department to consider how to inform and guide best practice across England.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Computer Misuse Act 1990

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2014, Official Report, column 268W, on Computer Misuse Act 1990, and with reference to action 7 under objective 1 on page 36 of the UK Cyber Security Strategy, when the Government plan to publish their review of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office, with its partners, has kept the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA) under constant review to ensure the UK has a robust legal framework that enables law enforcement agencies to tackle cybercrime. We set out in the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy (October 2013) that we will bring forward proposals to amend the CMA, including to update existing offences to cover importing tools for cyber crime. We will legislate as soon as the parliamentary timetable allows.

Driving: Licensing

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2014, Official Report, column 238W, on driving: licensing, how many new drivers who received driving convictions undertook speed awareness courses in each year since 2010.

Damian Green: holding answer 26 March 2014
	The number of drivers that opted for a speed awareness course rather than accept penalty points on their driving licence is:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010 447,724 
			 2011 772,430 
			 2012 926,101 
			 2013 953,428 
		
	
	The offer of a speed awareness course is at the discretion of the police. To be deemed eligible there must be no excessive speed or other offences committed at the same time. Information on previous motoring convictions is not taken into account.

Motorway Service Areas: Alcoholic Drinks

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking on the decision to allow the sale and consumption of alcohol in a motorway service area.

Norman Baker: The Licensing Act 2003 bans the sale of alcohol at certain motorway service areas but this ban does not extend to all of them. At motorway service areas which are not covered by the Act, the grant of premise licences for the sale of alcohol in any particular case is at present a matter for the local licensing authority.
	The Government included motorway service areas as part of the public consultation on the Alcohol Strategy in 2012-13. The Government's response to this consultation was published in July 2013 and stated that this issue would be considered further, and it is under active consideration.

Passports: Databases

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department has paid for the use of Interpol's SLTD database in each year since 2010.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office accounting system does not identify separate expenditure on the Interpol's SLTD database. The information cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer questions tabled by the hon. Member for Birkenhead on 28 February 2014 for answer on 6 March 2014 on the Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration project.

James Brokenshire: I answered questions 190276 and 190398 on 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 18W and column 19W respectively. I apologise for the delay in responding.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Domestic Violence: Prosecutions

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2014, Official Report, columns 705-06W, on domestic violence: prosecutions, if he will estimate the number of victimless prosecutions for domestic violence-related offences in 2013.

Oliver Heald: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 706W.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Environment Agency: Prosecutions

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the Environment Agency in pursuing prosecutions.

Dan Rogerson: The Environment Agency has a published Enforcement and Sanctions Statement. It uses a wide range of enforcement responses where it encounters unlawful activity. This includes advice and guidance, through to civil sanctions and prosecution. Prosecutions are taken across a wide range of regulated activities, from navigation and fisheries, to complex industrial processes, waste regulation, and water resources management.
	The Environment Agency has a 97% success rate in prosecutions and has good cost recovery rates.

Fisheries

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make an assessment of the sustainability of the use of wreck netting by trawlers.

George Eustice: Wreck netting is not conducted by trawlers. The Marine Management Organisation is however aware of localised potential conflict between rod and line fisheries and those fishing by means of wreck netting. Through regular meetings with local fishermen it aims to set catch limits that recognise the needs of both groups.

Fisheries

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to support the rod and line fishing industry.

George Eustice: DEFRA has taken a number of measures that support the inshore fishing fleet in recent years, including realigning fishing quotas that were unutilised by producer organisations and giving them to the inshore fleet. Work is ongoing in order to determine other ways in which we can assist the inshore fleet.
	There are no current national plans to differentiate between gear types for the inshore fishing fleet, although it is possible that some inshore fisheries conservation associations (IFCAs) may consider introducing restrictions to address local needs in the future.

Nature Conservation: British Overseas Territories

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the directives of the Lionfish response strategy implemented in the Overseas Territories are.

George Eustice: Since 2011, we have looked for opportunities to work with Caribbean Overseas Territories to get a better understanding of the scale and nature of the lionfish problem, including economic and ecological impacts.
	Since then, DEFRA, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) have provided funding totalling £80,000 to help Caribbean Overseas Territories tackle this increasingly serious threat. This includes two seminars in 2013 (organised by the JNCC) to enable the UK Overseas Territories to address sustainable control of lionfish in the longer term. Work is also being funded in the Cayman Islands to assess the economic impact of the lionfish invasion.
	We will also be funding a Darwin Plus project in Bermuda over the next two years totalling £169,898 which will address lionfish control.

Nature Conservation: Crime

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcomes were of the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade 2014.

George Eustice: The London Conference successfully focused high-level political attention on the scourge of the illegal wildlife trade. Forty-one countries, the European Union, and 10 international organisations were represented at senior level, including by the Presidents of four African states.
	The conference participants agreed on an ambitious political declaration, containing 25 practical commitments to action that will help to eradicate the demand for wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement and support the development of sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by wildlife crime.
	These include significant commitments by Government to:
	renounce the use of any products from species threatened with extinction;
	support the CITES commercial prohibition on international trade in elephant ivory until the survival of elephants in the wild is no longer threatened by poaching;
	treating poaching and trafficking as a serious organised crime in the same category as drugs, arms and people trafficking.
	The Presidents of Botswana, Chad, Gabon and Tanzania, and the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia also announced the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI) during the London Conference. This aims to secure funding from private and public sources for the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan. The participating Governments will commit to an extended moratorium on the sale of ivory and to put all ivory stocks beyond economic use, showing that it is the elephants that hold value and not their tusks, in return for support from the fund. The UK warmly welcomes the EPI and has committed to match the initial $2 million of private sector funding to help kick start this initiative.
	The Government of Botswana, with the support of the UK, also offered to host a follow-up conference to review progress in early 2015.

Water Charges

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of progress on the water pricing review led by Ofwat; and if he will make a statement.

Owen Paterson: The water price review is an independent process led by the economic regulator, Ofwat. We are firmly committed to this principle of independence and can make no assessment on the progress of the price review.
	Water companies submitted their business plans for the 2015-20 period to Ofwat in December. Nearly all are proposing flat or declining bills from 2015.
	Regular updates on the price review process can be found on Ofwat's website.

Wildlife: Smuggling

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK meets its obligations on tackling the illegal wildlife trade as set out in the London Declaration of 2014; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: The Government are committed to the UK playing its part in helping to tackle the scourge of the illegal wildlife trade and meeting the commitments set out in the London Declaration. We will do this by:
	delivering on the UK-specific commitments we set out in the UK Commitment to Action published in February 2014, such as continuing to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit until 2016;
	continuing to work with our international partners in governments and key international organisations to ensure that the illegal wildlife trade has the high level political attention it deserves, in all relevant international fora,
	funding activities that will help developing countries tackle the illegal wildlife trade, using the £10 million fund announced by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), on 23 December 2013, including support for the Elephant Protection Initiative;
	supporting the Government of Botswana to host a follow-up conference in early 2015 to review progress internationally; and
	continuing to pursue a Government-wide approach to tackling the issue, overseen by the Inter-Ministerial Group on International Animal Welfare, chaired by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague).

TRANSPORT

Bus Services

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the number of bus services that have closed in the last 12 months; and what assessment he has made of the effects of changes to the concessionary travel scheme on the viability of local bus services.

Stephen Hammond: There have been 3,385 existing bus registration cancellations in 2013-14 to date (with five days of the reporting period remaining). This is a reduction on the previous two years. There were also 3,303 new bus service registrations processed by the Office of the Traffic Commissioner across the same 12-month period.
	Concessionary travel should have no impact on the viability of local bus services as reimbursement to bus operators is not a means to support services which are not viable on a commercial basis. Legislation requires travel concession authorities (TCAs) to ensure that bus operators are left "no better off and no worse off' as a consequence of taking part in the mandatory travel concession. In general, TCAs set their schemes each year and they have discretion to decide whether or not to offer more than the mandatory concession in their own scheme areas.

Bus Services

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2014, Official Report, column 692W, on rural bus services, to which projects the £300 million funding for major bus projects has been allocated; and how much has been allocated to each.

Stephen Hammond: The following table sets out the schemes in the Department's Local Authority Major Scheme Programme which are entirely bus based or which include elements related to bus improvements.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Scheme name and status Local authority Total cost DFT contribution 
			 Complete    
			 Mansfield Public Transport Interchange Nottinghamshire 8.8 7.2 
			 Rochdale Interchange Rochdale 11.5 7.0 
			 Weston Package Phase 1 N. Somerset 13.4 9.3 
			     
			 Fully Approved/Under Construction    
			 Portsmouth Tipner Interchange Portsmouth 28.2 19.5 
			 Access York Phase 1 City of York 22.7 15.3 
			 Loughborough Town Centre Imp Leicestershire 19.7 14.8 
			 Ipswich Transport Fit for 21st Century Suffolk 21.6 18.3 
			 Worcester Integrated Transport Worcestershire 19.7 14.2 
			 Bath Transportation Package Bath & NE Somerset 26.9 11.0 
			 Manchester Cross City Bus Manchester 43.2 32.5 
			 S Yorkshire Bus Rapid Transit North S Yorkshire 28.2 15.8 
		
	
	
		
			 Pennine Reach (Blackburn) Blackburn w Darwen 39.8 31.9 
			     
			 Programme Entry/Support Confirmed    
			 Bristol BRT Ashton Vale to Temple Meads Bristol Bristol 46.7 34.5 
			 South Bristol Link N. Somerset 42.6 27.6 
			 Bristol BRT North Fringe to Hengrove S. Gloucestershire 92.9 51.1 
			 Hucknall Town Centre Imp Nottinghamshire 12.3 8.5 
			 Elmbridge Transport Gloucestershire 18.7 14.1

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that houses purchased by HS2 Limited under the Exceptional Hardship Scheme are not sold on at less than market value.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport has asked HS2 Ltd to prepare an asset management strategy that reflects best practice in the public sector and relevant policy aims for HS2, including community cohesion and the normal function of local housing markets. To date, no properties purchased under the Exceptional Hardship Scheme have been sold, or offered for sale. Any eventual sales will be undertaken with a view to obtaining the best outcome for the taxpayer and for local communities.

Level Crossings

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last raised level crossing safety issues in a meeting with Network Rail.

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State for Transport meets with Network Rail regularly and a variety of issues are discussed.

Network Rail

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last attended a board meeting of Network Rail.

Stephen Hammond: The Secretary of State has not attended any meetings of Network Rail's board. Network Rail is currently a private sector company limited by guarantee, which is accountable in the public interest through independent safety and economic regulation by the Office of Rail Regulation.

Network Rail

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy that the remuneration of Network Rail executives should be reduced in response to the incidence of deaths on level crossings;
	(2)  with reference to the safety record of Network Rail, what his policy is on National Rail executives due to leave their posts receiving bonuses.

Stephen Hammond: Network Rail is currently a private sector company limited by guarantee, and the remuneration of its executive directors is a matter for its remuneration committee and members. Under a condition of the company's network licence, it falls to the independent Office of Rail Regulation to ensure that Network Rail's bonus scheme framework is transparent, and rewards sustained and significant out-performance of the targets set for it.
	With effect from 1 September 2014, Network Rail will be reclassified to the public sector. Work to decide on the best approach to governance, finance, and accounting and budgeting, including remuneration, has now begun. In advance of 1 September a Framework Agreement between the Department and Network Rail, which explains these decisions, will be published.

Pedestrian Crossings

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the benefits to children's safety of road crossing patrollers.

Robert Goodwill: The Government firmly believe in localism and providing local authorities with powers to introduce measures to deal with local needs and conditions. Local authorities will invariably have a strategy to improve road safety and will prioritise their road network based on the need to reduce casualties.
	The provision of the school crossing patrol service is a matter for the local authority. Legislation gives them the power to make arrangements for the patrolling of places where children cross roads on their way to or from school, but does not impose a duty on them to do so. Funding decisions are also a matter for the local authority based on their local needs and priorities.
	It is for the council to assess the crossing situation and determine a course of action as it is in this situation. In some cases, if the authority agrees that children from a particular school need help in crossing a busy road but have not recruited anyone, they have to think about finding other ways of making the crossing safer—for example, by putting in a pedestrian crossing.

Pedestrian Crossings: Essex

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on road crossing patrollers in (a) Essex and (b) Harlow constituency in the last 10 years.

Robert Goodwill: The Department does not hold records of the amount spent on school crossing patrol services in each local authority.

Roads: Lancashire

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how much has been allocated to Lancashire county council to repair potholes in (a) Lancashire and (b) Rossendale;
	(2)  how much has been allocated from the £200 million fund to repair potholes to Blackburn with Darwen borough council to repair potholes in Darwen.

Robert Goodwill: From the £200 million to help fix potholes on the local road network announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the March 2014 Budget, £168 million will be for local authorities in England. This funding will be made available through a bidding exercise and it will be for Blackburn and Darwen council to submit a bid to the Department. Guidance on how councils can apply for this funding will be made available in the coming weeks.
	The Department for Transport has agreed to provide £90.1 million to Lancashire county council for road maintenance during the financial years from 2011-12 to 2014-15. This funding can be used to help repair potholes.
	Rossendale falls within Lancashire county council's area of responsibility and we do not allocate any funds directly to the borough council for road maintenance.

Rolling Stock

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with train operating companies and rolling stock companies on the availability of rolling stock to train operating companies during the periods of franchise extension.

Stephen Hammond: The Department for Transport regularly meets with the rolling stock companies to discuss the rolling stock market, including upcoming competitions and direct awards. In the development of each directly awarded franchise the Department has extensive discussions with the operator to discuss rolling stock issues, including maintenance, potential upgrades and the overall availability of stock during the period of the franchise, to ensure that appropriate levels of passenger service can be provided within the period.
	Ministers regularly meet with train operating companies and rolling stock companies to discuss a wide range of issues, including the rolling stock market. The Department expects train operators and rolling stock companies ultimately to resolve any issues with regard to the availability of rolling stock for the period of their franchise, or any extension thereof.

Shipping: Employment

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to appoint the working group to assess the impact of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 in the shipping industry; what the terms of reference will be for that group; and what the expected time frame will be within which it will report its findings to Ministers.

Stephen Hammond: Discussions have already been held with Government, association and union representatives and we have a broad understanding. A meeting of interested parties will be convened within the next two months and will focus that understanding into formulating the terms of reference and to agreeing the membership of the group. The review will be fully compliant with Section 6 of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011.
	Another action of that meeting will be to set the time frame in which the group will report back. Members of the group will be asked to give consideration to their own time scales that will be necessary to deliver their contributions to the group. Therefore while Section 6 sets an absolute deadline of 17 July 2016 it would be expected for the working group to publish its report before then.

Shipping: Employment

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he has taken to enforce the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 in the shipping industry; and which regulatory body is responsible for such enforcement on (a) UK and (b) overseas-flagged vessels in UK ports.

Stephen Hammond: A contravention of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 can be notified either to the port state authorities or directly to the appropriate enforcement team. For example, a breach of national minimum wage regulations could be reported directly to the HMRC Enforcement Team or gender discrimination could be reported to the Equal Opportunities Commission.
	Enforcement action for a contravention occurring where the regulations are applicable on UK-flagged vessels would be undertaken by the relevant enforcement team (as per above) for that infringement.
	Enforcement action for a contravention on board a foreign-flagged vessel, which while more complex in its application would similarly be undertaken where the regulations are applicable to either that vessel or an individual concerned.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Cyprus

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the potential role of the UK's sovereign bases in Cyprus in reaching a comprehensive settlement in Cyrpus.

David Lidington: There have been no such ministerial discussions. It is for the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities to agree on the terms of a solution. The British Government have maintained the offer to cede nearly half the sovereign base area territories in the event of a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus.

Cyprus

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits of reaching a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus in respect of resolving the issues relating to the port of Famagusta.

David Lidington: A comprehensive settlement would bring significant economic benefits, through increased opportunities for trade, investment and tourism, including to the Varosha area of Famagusta. The United Kingdom will continue to support Cypriot efforts aimed at ending the division which has affected their island for too long.

Cyprus

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have had with their Turkish counterparts on efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus in respect of issues relating to the port of Famagusta.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and myself regularly discuss Cyprus with their Turkish counterparts. In my recent visit to Turkey, I discussed Cyprus with Ambassador Sinirlioglu, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Turkey. All ministerial discussions with the parties and EU member states are aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement, including on the issue of the Varosha area of Famagusta.

Cyprus

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he and (b) his ministerial colleagues have had with their EU counterparts on efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus in respect of issues relating to the port of Famagusta.

David Lidington: The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and myself discussed how to support a Cyprus settlement with a number of EU member states in the run up to the Joint Declaration, signed by the leaders of the two communities in February 2014. This included a Foreign Secretary meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Venizelos. All ministerial discussions with the parties and EU member states are aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement, including on the issue of the Varosha area of Famagusta.

India

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to his Indian counterpart on access to tourist visas for UK nationals with Pakistani heritage.

Hugo Swire: We regularly discuss visa and migration matters with the Indian Government. I discussed migration matters with the Indian high commissioner at our most recent meeting on 18 March. The issue of visas for UK nationals of Pakistani origin was also discussed at the last UK-India Comprehensive Dialogue on Visa-related issues in July 2013. Our officials continue to raise this issue with the Indian Government ahead of the next dialogue scheduled to take place in July.

Iran

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the arrest and interrogation of eight Christians in Iran on 5 March 2014 and the issuing of arrest warrants for Amin Khuki, Hossein Bamuzadah and Rahman Buhman; and what recent representations he has made to Iran on religious toleration.

Hugh Robertson: We are concerned by the report from Christian Solidarity Worldwide about the arrest and interrogation of eight Christians on 5 March 2014; and by the treatment of religious minorities in Iran, in particular Christian groups and the Baha'i. We have expressed these concerns to the Iranian authorities, and call on them to release anyone detained on the grounds of religious belief, and to ensure that the fundamental rights of all Iranian citizens are fully respected.

Macedonia

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  how the International Court of Justice's judgment on 5 December 2011 in the case concerning the Application of the Interim Accord of 13 September 1995 (the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia v. Greece) will affect the Republic of Macedonia's membership entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation;
	(2)  what his Department's policy is on (a) the Republic of Macedonia and (b) the Republic of Montenegro joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation discussions during the 2014 Summit in Wales;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with his Greek counterpart on the Republic of Macedonia's entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

David Lidington: The UK strongly supports the decision taken by allies at the Bucharest summit in 2008 that Macedonia will be invited to join the Alliance once a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue with Greece has been reached within the framework of the UN. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary General made clear in a statement of 5 December 2011 that the International Court of Justice's ruling did not affect this decision and at the Chicago summit in 2012 the allies reaffirmed their commitment to Macedonia being invited to join NATO once the name issue is resolved. The UK continues to strongly urge intensified efforts by both parties towards a resolution of this issue.
	NATO enlargement, including the progress of Macedonia towards membership, is regularly discussed at foreign ministerial sessions of the North Atlantic Council, most recently in December 2013 in the presence of Greek Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangeloa Venizelos. The British Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO also encouraged both Macedonia and Greece to find a solution to the name issue during the North Atlantic Council meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister on 12 February. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), and myself also urge progress towards a resolution of the Macedonia name issue in our interactions with our Greek and Macedonian counterparts.
	The UK commends Montenegro's continued progress towards completion of NATO's Membership Action Plan process. However, there is still work to be done, notably on public support for NATO, intelligence and defence reform, strengthening the rule of law and overcoming organised crime and corruption. The UK continues to support Montenegro's efforts, both bilaterally and through NATO.
	The UK strongly supports NATO's 'Open Door policy' on membership for any European democracy that wishes to join the Alliance and is in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership to contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. As such, invitations to join NATO will only be issued when aspiring members have completed the reforms which have been identified as necessary and are required of them to meet these commitments.

Mali

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to support initiatives to (a) combat illicit trafficking across Mali's borders, (b) strengthen the investigative and judicial capacity and capabilities of the Malian Government, (c) reduce inequality and corruption in Mali and (d) reduce military intervention in Mali's politics; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: Many of the challenges faced by Mali are shared by its region. The UK has therefore taken a regional approach to tackling the issues. This has also helped to shape the strategic approaches of the EU and UN.
	(a) We are working both bilaterally and with international partners to strengthen security, including around the region's porous borders. The UK is contributing to, and participating in, the EU's security sector capacity building mission (EUCAP Sahel Mali) in neighbouring Niamey. We are supportive, in principle, of establishing a similar mission in Mali.
	(b) The UK's small, but active, participation in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) is helping to strengthen the Malians' criminal justice sector.
	(c) The UK Special Envoy to the Sahel, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Mr O'Brien) visited Mali in early March and raised the issue of corruption during a meeting with President Keita. President Keita assured Mr O'Brien that tackling corruption was a priority. The Department for International Development's development programme is also aimed at alleviating poverty and building sustainable livelihoods.
	(d) We welcome the decision to investigate the crimes committed by the former military junta. This will be an important process in helping Mali to rebuild an accountable, democratic system.

Mali

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the report of the Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime and Illicit Trafficking in Mali; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the drugs trade and illicit economic activity on good governance, democracy and sustainable development in Mali.

Mark Simmonds: We have noted the Global Initiative report and agree with much of its analysis. The UK recognises the impact that illicit trafficking and organised crime have on governance and security in Mali and the Sahel. We believe it is essential to focus efforts on improving governance, strengthening regional cooperation and building criminal justice capacity. On 18 December 2013, UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Sir Mark Lyall-Grant, restated this position at a UN Security Council session on drug trafficking in the Sahel and West Africa.

Middle East

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the establishment of a UN Compensation Commission to compensate Jewish and Palestinian refugees affected by the Middle East conflict; and what assessment he has made of the potential effect of such a fund on the peace process.

Hugh Robertson: The United Kingdom is willing to take steps to assist in the establishment and implementation of a UN Conciliation Commission as advised in UNGAR 194 of 1948. We stand ready to do all we can to support the Palestinians, Israelis and the United States to achieve the lasting peace that the people of the region need and deserve. However, we have made no formal assessment on the effect of a UN Conciliation Commission on the peace process.

Middle East

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last raised (a) Palestinian refugees and (b) Israeli refugees in talks concerning the Middle East peace process.

Hugh Robertson: I raised the issue of Palestinian refugees during my visit to Israel, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Jordan in November 2013. We are clear that this issue must be addressed as part of a final status agreement which includes a just, fair and agreed settlement for refugees. I have not raised the issue of Israeli refugees in talks concerning the Middle East peace process.

Occupied Territories

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to Israel on the building of 839 new housing units in the Settlement of Ariel announced in March 2014.

Hugh Robertson: In my statement of 21 March, I condemned the decisions taken by the Israeli authorities on 19 March 2014 to advance a number of settlement plans in the west bank, including plans to expand the settlement of Ariel. Our ambassador to Tel Aviv has reinforced our concerns at a senior level in the Israeli Government.

Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk of expropriation of UK assets in Russia; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: We have carefully considered these risks, along with other economic and political risks to the UK as a result of the Ukraine crisis. We continue to follow developments closely and discuss with stakeholders as necessary. We believe that any attempt to expropriate or undermine UK or other international investments in Russia would send a stark warning to foreign investors and cause considerable damage to the Russian economy, which is already under significant pressure. But we do not wish to see the Russian economy veer toward collapse. This is why we continue to argue that the correct course of action is for Russia and Ukraine to talk directly and find a diplomatic solution. The choice remains for President Putin: take the path of de-escalation or face increasing isolation, tighter sanctions and long-term damage to the Russian economy.

Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the risk of a Russian invasion of the Transnistria region of Moldova; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: We continue to monitor events in the Transnistria region of the Republic of Moldova closely. President Putin's decision to absorb Crimea into the Russian Federation has worrying implications for the region, including the Republic of Moldova. I welcome the visit by the All Party Parliamentary Group for Moldova led by Lord Dubs as an opportunity to hear first hand from key interlocutors. The European Council on Monday 24 March reaffirmed its intention to strengthen further political association and economic integration with the Republic of Moldova, The European Council aims to sign the Association Agreements, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas, initialled in Vilnius last November, no later than June 2014.

Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to extend the requirement to apply sanctions set out in Council Regulation (EU) 269/2014 to all British Overseas Territory governments.

David Lidington: A draft Order in Council concerning the application of the sanctions set out in Council Regulation (EU) 269/2014 will be submitted to the next meeting of the Privy Council.
	An Order in Council concerning the application of the sanctions set out in Council Regulation 208/2014 was made on 5 March 2014 and came into force on 7 March 2014.
	These Orders in Council do not extend to Bermuda or Gibraltar. Bermuda enacts local legislation to apply the provisions set out in EU Council Regulations imposing sanctions. Such Council Regulations apply directly in Gibraltar.

Russia

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek an estimate from all British Overseas Territory governments of the value of Russian (a) financial and (b) non-financial assets held in their territories.

David Lidington: The British Government do not request information on the value of particular assets held in the Overseas Territories on a routine basis.
	However, the Government do consult closely with the Territories on the implementation of sanctions within their jurisdictions.
	The Overseas Territories are committed to work with the UK to promote the application of high international standards and will play their full part in implementing sanctions and asset freezing measures.

Russia

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether it is his Department's policy to formally classify the presence of Russian troops in (a) South Ossetia, (b) Abkhazia, (c) the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and (d) the City of Sevastopol as an occupation.

David Lidington: I shall write to my right hon. Friend on these issues.

Serbia

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on Serbia's EU accession.

David Lidington: The UK remains a strong supporter of EU enlargement to all the countries of the Western Balkans, including both Serbia and Kosovo, and Turkey, once conditions have been met. Enlargement benefits the UK. Expansion of the single market means greater prosperity for Britain. Stability in the Western Balkans means greater security for the UK.
	We supported the decision to open EU accession negotiations with Serbia in January this year. Serbia's leadership has shown sustained political will to continue its path towards the EU, and taken concrete steps to improve relations with Kosovo. The start of EU accession negotiations in January was an important milestone on Serbia's EU path. There will be many challenges ahead. The accession process for all countries is long and rigorous, requiring the further deepening of domestic reforms and the promotion of positive regional relations. Normalisation of Serbia's relations with Kosovo will be a yardstick throughout this process and comprehensive normalisation will be required before Serbia joins the EU. The reforms required by the negotiations will also bring increasing stability and prosperity to the people of Serbia.

Serbia

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the business and inward investment environment in Serbia.

David Lidington: The Government agree with the assessment and recommendations of the European Commission in its 2013 progress report on Serbia. Serbia has made some progress towards establishing a functioning market economy, but faces significant challenges to align itself with EU acquis and economic criteria.
	Legal uncertainty, the market-distorting presence of the state in the economy and corruption remain problems. Credible reforms to address restructuring of public enterprises and subsidies, as well as steps to improve the business environment and develop a competitive private sector are needed.
	As a strong supporter of Serbia's EU future, the Government will continue to encourage, and offer support, to Serbia to address these recommendations and maintain efforts towards meeting the EU's membership criteria in full.

Serbia

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Serbian counterpart on (a) rule of law, (b) business and economic reforms, (c) trade and investment, (d) organised crime and (e) corruption in that country.

David Lidington: When I met Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Vucic in March 2013, I raised the need to make progress on domestic reforms, particularly on the rule of law and human rights.
	In his meeting with Prime Minister Dacic in October 2013, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) also stressed the importance of the rule of law and improving the business environment if Serbia is to secure more investment in a competitive global market.
	As a strong supporter of Serbia's EU future, the Government raise these themes with Serbia at official level on a regular basis and will continue to do so in encouraging Serbia to make the reforms necessary to meet the standards required by EU membership criteria.

Serbia

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of misuse of Article 234 of the Serbian Criminal Code against the Serbian business community.

David Lidington: I am aware of the concerns of some members of the Serbian business community over the implementation of Article 234 of the Serbian Criminal Code. The UK Government support the calls in the European Commission's 2013 Progress Report for the implementation of Article 234 to be carefully monitored including with a view to a comprehensive review of economic crimes.
	The UK, in supporting an EU future for Serbia and all countries in the Western Balkans, will continue to insist that applicant states fully comply with the EU's membership criteria before acceding, including in establishing the rule of law.

Sri Lanka

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to strengthen the language of the draft Human Rights Council Resolution on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka and to build support from Human Rights Council members for an international inquiry into Sri Lanka.

Hugo Swire: We continue to play a leading role in securing a strong resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council. The draft resolution includes a call for an international investigation into allegations of violations and abuses of international humanitarian and human rights law on both sides during the civil war in Sri Lanka, in addition to calling for progress on human rights, reconciliation and a political settlement. This is a huge step forward and will help break new ground if the Council is successful in establishing an international mechanism.
	We are playing a leading role in urging other Council members to support this resolution. The Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) and I have led our efforts to secure a strong resolution, and have raised Sri Lanka at ministerial level with the majority of Council members. We are also using our diplomatic network to engage with host governments in support of the resolution.
	The Council will have voted on the draft resolution by 28 March.

Sudan

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the arrest of the lawyer Abdulmonim Adam in Sudan; and what representations he is making to ensure that Mr Abdulmonim Adam receives access to legal advice and representation.

Mark Simmonds: We are aware of reports that Abdulmonim Adam was arrested for writing about the recent demonstration at the University of Khartoum which resulted in the death of a student. Although we have not raised this specific case, my officials and I have, and will continue to, regularly stress the importance of protecting human rights with the Government of Sudan, and highlight our concerns and their responsibilities in accordance with the constitution of Sudan. On 26 March, I met the UN Independent Expert on Human Rights for Sudan, Professor Mashood Baderin, to encourage the UN to play a leading role in monitoring and protecting human rights in Sudan.

Ukraine

Rory Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the staff of the British embassy in Kiev in 2013 were UK-based rather than locally recruited.

Hugh Robertson: As at 31 December 2013, there were 17 UK based staff at the British embassy in Kiev.

Nature Conservation: Crime

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the UK meets its obligations on tackling the illegal wildlife trade under the 2014 London Declaration; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	The Government are committed to the UK playing its part in helping to tackle the scourge of the illegal wildlife trade and meeting the commitments set out in the London Declaration. We will do this by:
	delivering on the UK-specific commitments we set out in the UK Commitment to Action published in February 2014, such as continuing to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit until 2016;
	continuing to work with our international partners in governments and key international organisations to ensure that the illegal wildlife trade has the high level political attention it deserves, in all relevant international fora,
	funding activities that will help developing countries tackle the illegal wildlife trade, using the £10 million fund announced by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), and the Secretary of State for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Justine Greening), on 23 December 2013, including support for the Elephant Protection Initiative;
	supporting the Government of Botswana to host a follow-up conference in early 2015 to review progress internationally; and
	continuing to pursue a Government-wide approach to tackling the issue, overseen by the Inter-Ministerial Group on International Animal Welfare, chaired by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague).

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Crime: Nature Conservation

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the UK meets its obligations on tackling the illegal wildlife trade under the 2014 London Declaration; and if she will make a statement.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID recognises that the international Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) is a serious criminal industry, one that undermines sustainable economic development in some of the world's poorest countries, funds serious and organised crime, and threatens the existence of the world's most iconic species. As part of UK co-ordinated efforts to tackle IWT, DFID has committed £10 million to support DEFRA-led delivery of actions outlined in the London Conference Declaration.

Developing Countries: Overseas Investment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to her speech of 27 January 2014 on smart aid, with which key industries and professions her Department is partnering.

Justine Greening: DFID is developing partnerships with several key industries and professions that are important to development, including extractives, retail, financial services, infrastructure/construction and accountancy.

Developing Countries: Overseas Investment

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to her speech given at the London Stock Exchange on 27 January 2014 
	(1)  which the major partner companies are that she referred to in the section of the speech dealing with greater engagement with businesses;
	(2)  what the role will be of the dedicated contact points referred to in that speech; and whether organisations from civil society will have access to those contact points.

Justine Greening: DFID has identified a number of companies across key sectors for development, such as Unilever and Marks and Spencer. This includes extractives, retail, financial services, infrastructure/construction and accountancy.
	Civil society organisations will continue to have access to dedicated civil society contact points in the Department.

Development Aid

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that its private sector strategy adheres to the Busan principles on aid effectiveness.

Justine Greening: As co-chair of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), DFID is helping governments, businesses and civil society to work together to improve development effectiveness and ensure the Busan principles of transparency, ownership, results and inclusivity are implemented.

Non-governmental Organisations

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the value for money of her Department's expenditure on non-governmental organisations since 2010.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID assesses the value for money (VfM) of all of its expenditure through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on an annual basis. Every project is subject to an annual review in which a judgment is made as to whether the funding is achieving good VfM. This involves consideration of how they minimise costs and maximise results. Achieved results are compared to pre-agreed outputs and outcomes, with metrics suitable to the project and policy area, and organisations must demonstrate how costs are kept at a proportionate level.

South Sudan

Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessments she has made of the humanitarian situation in Jonglei and the Upper Nile in South Sudan; and what steps she is taking to support those who are being displaced or affected by the conflict in that region.

Lynne Featherstone: The humanitarian situation in South Sudan remains extremely serious. There are rising humanitarian needs, but access constraints including active hostilities, continue to hamper the humanitarian response in some areas. DFID has provided direct funding to NGOs operating in Upper Nile and Jonglei states, to provide shelter, water and sanitation facilities and emergency medical care. DFID has also funded emergency logistics to airlift aid works and humanitarian supplies to those in need across the country. The World Food Programme has started airdrops of food supplies this week to both Jonglei and Upper Nile states, in sites with high concentrations of people.
	The UK has so far committed £12.5 million of new funding to the response since December, and redirected £19 million of earlier commitments to be reprioritised to the crisis. We are reviewing with the Humanitarian Country Team and donors on the ground how to best reach and support the displaced populations, particularly in difficult to reach areas and within the current security context.

EDUCATION

ICT: Primary Education

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to improve opportunities for children in primary school to learn computer programming.

Elizabeth Truss: As part of the reforms to the national curriculum, the Department for Education is strengthening the teaching of programming in schools by replacing ICT with computing. The new computing programmes of study, which will be taught in maintained schools from September 2014, have a much greater emphasis on computer science and include a significant focus on programming. Primary school pupils at key stage 1 will be taught to understand what algorithms are, create and debug simple programs, and use logical reasoning to predict the behaviour of simple programs. Building on this, primary school pupils at key stage 2 will be taught to design, write and debug programs that accomplish specific goals, including controlling or simulating physical systems; use sequence, selection, and repetition in programs; and use logical reasoning to detect and correct errors in algorithms and programs.
	The Department is funding several projects to help teachers acquire the necessary subject knowledge and skills to teach the new computing curriculum. We are funding the British Computer Society (BCS) to help primary school teachers improve their subject knowledge through online teach-yourself resources and 800 in-school workshops. We are also funding BCS to build a network of 400 'Master Teachers'. A further £500,000 competitive match-funded scheme was announced on 4 February to support excellent computing teaching and lever additional investment and engagement from business.

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made for the number of three and four-year-olds who will benefit from his new early years premium; what the eligibility criteria is for those children; how those three and four-year-olds will be identified; what amount will be attached to each child; how the premium will be administered; whether all early years settings will be eligible to receive the premium for children in their care; and how many years that funding is guaranteed for.

Elizabeth Truss: The purpose of the £50 million funding through a pupil premium for early years, which the Government announced on 18 March, is to improve early years provision for disadvantaged three and four-year-olds. We will consult on delivery of the premium, including the eligibility criteria, prior to its introduction in April 2015. Funding decisions beyond 2015-16 will be determined in a future Parliament.

Schools: Broadband

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what progress his Department has made on the rollout of broadband for schools; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education does not procure and install broadband on behalf of schools. Head teachers manage their own budgets and are best placed to decide on their broadband requirements.

Schools: Computers

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effects on pedagogy of giving pupils in secondary schools one-to- one tablet computers; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what comparison he has made with other OECD countries of the effects on pedagogy of giving one-to- one tablets to every pupil in secondary schools.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has reviewed evidence on the effects of one-to-one tablet schemes on pedagogy, and more broadly within education, from the UK and Australia. Positive effects on pedagogy cited within the studies considered include: improvements to lessons and homework, characterised by more creative and engaging tasks; more and better quality feedback to pupils; and improvements in monitoring and assessment.
	The Department will continue to review international research in this area, such as that being undertaken by the Creative Classroom project of the European Schoolnet organisation. This study is looking at the effects of one-to-one tablet use, in 45 secondary schools, and across eight European countries.

Schools: Finance

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to introduce his new national school funding formula.

David Laws: On 13 March, I announced proposals to allocate £350 million to our least fairly funded local areas in 2015-16. This is the biggest step towards fairer schools funding in a decade. It puts us in a much better position to implement a national funding formula when the time is right—after the next spending review, when there are multi-year public spending plans, and we can give greater certainty to schools about how the formula will affect them.

Schools: Finance

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria were used to calculate the uplift of (a) primary and (b) secondary students grant per pupil in each local education authority; and for what reasons Staffordshire received no special uplift.

David Laws: In 2015-16, in addition to funding all local authorities at the same cash level per pupil as in 2014-15, we will add a further £350 million funding for the least fairly-funded authorities. To allocate this as fairly as possible, we selected the characteristics we think contribute most to the attainment of pupils and viability of schools, and set indicative minimum funding levels for each of these. The characteristics we selected were as follows:
	1. An age-weighted basic per pupil unit of funding; and
	2. Additional units of funding for:
	2.1 deprived pupils;
	2.2 pupils with low attainment;
	2.3 pupils with English as an additional language;
	2.4 children who are looked after, for example in foster care;
	2.5 a lump sum for all schools, regardless of size, to help with fixed costs; and
	2.6 funding for schools serving sparsely populated rural areas.
	These are all characteristics that local authorities already use in distributing schools funding. We looked at the average value attached by local authorities to each of these characteristics and used these as a basis for our proposed minimum funding levels for primary and secondary pupils and schools. As Staffordshire already attracts funding above these levels, it does not stand to gain from these proposals.
	Full details of our methodology can be found in the consultation document at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fairer-schools-funding-2015-to-2016

Schools: Wi-Fi

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what the baseline requirements are for wi-fi provision for all secondary schools to enable the use of one-to-one tablet computers in the classroom; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the baseline requirement is for wi-fi provision for all primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education has no baseline requirements for wi-fi provision in all schools. Head teachers manage their own budgets and are best placed to decide the extent of wi-fi provision. Where schools are built or rebuilt via the Department's capital programmes, IT infrastructure including wi-fi is installed to a standard that supports one-to-one tablet use in the classroom.